Home Buyers Experience Less Competition in May

The Toronto real estate market continued to see lower home sales in May 2024 compared to the previous year. This comes after a brief market upswing in the spring of 2023. Potential buyers are waiting for mortgage rates to come down before entering the market.

There’s some optimism, however. The number of new listings has increased significantly compared to last year. This suggests that existing homeowners are anticipating a future rise in demand, perhaps due to lower borrowing costs. With more properties available, buyers have more negotiating power when it comes to price.

The data confirms this. The average selling price in May 2024 was slightly lower than in May 2023. The MLS Home Price Index Composite benchmark also showed a year-over-year decrease. However, there was a small increase in average selling price compared to April 2024.

Experts believe that housing affordability will improve as mortgage rates go down. This will likely lead to more buyers entering the market, which could put upward pressure on prices again due to increased competition.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) is calling on all levels of government to work together to address the housing shortage in the Greater Toronto Area. They also emphasize the importance of timely completion of infrastructure projects to support population growth.