GTA realtors reported 5,188 home sale transactions through the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB)’s MLS System in January 2017, up 11.8 per cent compared to one year before. Annual rates of sales growth were higher for condominium apartments compared to low-rise homes.

January 2017 saw sales remain up on a year-over-year basis while the number of new listings dropped by double-digit annual rates for most major home types.

“Home ownership continues to be a great investment and remains very important to the majority of GTA households,” said Larry Cerqua, TREB president, in a press release. “As we move through 2017, we expect the demand for ownership housing to remain strong, including demand from first-time buyers who, according to a recent Ipsos survey, could account for more than half of transactions this year. However, many of these would-be buyers will have problems finding a home that meets their needs in a market with very little inventory.”

The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark price increased 21.8 per cent year-over-year in January 2017. Over the same period, the average selling price increased 22.3 per cent to $770,745, with double-digit gains in average prices across all major home types.

“The number of active listings on TREB’s MLS System at the end of January was essentially half of what was reported as available at the same time last year,” added Jason Mercer, TREB’s director of market analysis. “That statistic, on its own, tells us that there is a serious supply problem in the GTA – a problem that will continue to play itself out in 2017. The result will be very strong price growth for all home types again this year.”