Realtors in the Greater Toronto Area are noticing more competition among buyers as home sales climbed in March. According to the latest data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the average sales price surpassed the list price for the first time since May 2022.

“Recent consumer polling also suggests that demand for ownership housing will continue to recover this year, said TRREB President Paul Baron in a press release. “Look for first-time buyers to lead this recovery, as high average rents move more closely in line with the cost of ownership.”

There were a reported 6,896 sales in March 2023, down 36.5 per cent compared to last March. Month-over-month, actual and seasonally adjusted sales were up. New listings were also down year-over-year, but by a much greater annual rate. This points to tighter market conditions compared to last year.

“Lower inflation and greater uncertainty in financial markets has resulted in medium-term bond yields to trend lower,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer. “This has and will continue to result in lower fixed rate borrowing costs this year. Lower borrowing costs will help from an affordability perspective, especially as tighter market conditions exert upward pressure on selling prices in the second half of 2023.”

The average selling price was down by 14.6 per cent year-over-year to $1,108,606 and up month-over-month on an actual and seasonally adjusted basis.

“As population growth continues at a record pace on the back of immigration, first-time buying intentions will remain strong,” said TRREB CEO John DiMichele. “Because the number of homes for sale is expected to remain low, it will also be important to have substantial rental supply available. Unfortunately, this is not something we have at the present time. We need to see a policy focus on bringing more purpose-built rental units on line over the next number of years.”