COVID-19 has caused an immediate slowdown in housing market activity
Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News
A few weeks into Ontario’s state of emergency, the Greater Toronto Area’s condo sector is now bordering on being a buyers’ market – a full 180-degree turn from its previous status as one of the most desirable multi-family housing destinations in Canada.
“While real estate fundamentals indicate that housing demand will bounce back over the long-term in major urban centres like Toronto, COVID-19 has caused an immediate slowdown in housing market activity and across the economy more broadly,” Zoocasa stated in its latest analysis.
From March 3 to the final week of the month, the market’s condo sales fell by a dramatic 53%, from 1,541 to 729. The number of new listings also declined by 26%, from 2,490 to 1,842.
“This was a swift shift from sellers’ market conditions between March 3-16 when the [sale-to-new-listings-ratio] was 62%, to market conditions bordering those of a buyers’ market just two weeks later where the SNLR was 40%,” Zoocasa said.
For both detached and semi-detached homes, sales dropped by a comparable 53% during the same time frame, from 2,435 to 1,153 transactions. New listings across all housing types decreased by 30%, from 4,503 to 3,140.
The current pandemic has decimated financial and housing markets nationwide, with Toronto seeing a hard stop despite an average home price growth of around 9% year-over-year during the last full week of March (ending up at roughly $856,000).
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