Toronto home prices inch upwards in February

Sales remain low across the city’s housing market

Toronto’s home price index rose by 1.1% in February over the previous month but continued to plummet on a yearly basis, with sales volumes across the city also remaining subdued.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) revealed that the home price index (HP) sat at just under $1.1 million last month, down 17.7% year over year, with sales falling by 49% compared with February 2022. Still, sales figures saw their first monthly increase since August last year.

The number of new listings in February, meanwhile, fell by 40.9% to 8,367, and with buying intentions on the up according to recently released Ipsos polling, TRREB’s chief market analyst said prices were likely to rise again.

“This increased demand will run up against a constrained supply of listings and lead to increased competition between buyers,” Jason Mercer said in remarks accompanying the Board’s news release. “This will eventually lead to renewed price growth in many segments of the market, especially those catering to first-time buyers facing increased rental costs.”

TRREB noted that the share of sales below $1 million in the Toronto market had seen a big increase over the past year: in February, those accounted for 57% of transactions, compared with 38% at the same time in 2022.