A LOOK BACK AT THE 2022 GTA HOUSING MARKET
Home Sales and Listings are Down While Selling Prices and Rent Up
TORONTO, ONTARIO, January 5, 2023 – The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market
experienced a marked adjustment in 2022 compared to record levels in 2021. Existing affordability
issues brought about by a lack of housing supply were exacerbated by sustained interest rate hikes by
the Bank of Canada.
“Following a very strong start to the year, home sales trended lower in the spring and summer of 2022,
as aggressive Bank of Canada interest rate hikes further hampered housing affordability. With no relief
from the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) mortgage stress test or other
mortgage lending guidelines including amortization periods, home selling prices are adjusted downward to mitigate the impact of higher mortgage rates. However, home prices started leveling off in the late
summer, suggesting the aggressive early market adjustment may be coming to an end,” said new
Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) President Paul Baron.
There were 75,140 sales reported through TRREB’s MLS® System in 2022 – down 38.2%
compared to the 2021 record of 121,639. The number of new listings amounted to 152,873 – down 8.2% compared to 166,600 new listings in 2021. Seasonally adjusted monthly data for sales and price data show a marked flattening of the sales and price trends since the late summer.
“While home sales and prices dominated the headlines in 2022, the supply of new listings continued to
be an issue as well. The number of homes listed for sale in 2022 was down in comparison to 2021. This
helps explain why selling prices have found some support in recent months. Lack of supply has also
impacted the rental market. As renting has become more popular in this higher interest rate environment, tighter rental market conditions have translated into double-digit average rent increases,”
said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.
The average selling price for 2022 was $1,189,850 – up 8.6% compared to $1,095,333 in 2021.
This growth was based on a strong start to the year, in terms of year-over-year price growth. The pace
of growth moderated from the spring of 2022 onwards.
“As we look forward into 2023, there will be two opposite forces impacting the housing market. On the
one hand, we will continue to feel the impact of higher borrowing costs. On the other hand, record
levels of immigration will support demand for ownership and rental housing, while we struggle to come
to terms with a housing and infrastructure deficit in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. These themes will
be discussed in TRREB’s upcoming Market Outlook and Year in Review report to be released in early
February,” said TRREB CEO John DiMichele.
December 2022 Results
With rising interest rates, low housing inventory, and affordability being impacted by inflation, we’ve definitely experienced a market adjustment from the hot start in 2022. With that being said, the trend since the 2H of 2022 (Summer) is showing signs of the average home prices leveling off, which may indicate the aggressive early market adjustment may be coming to an end.
With the BOC next Rate announcement scheduled for January 25, 2022, and with the Spring Real Estate Market around the corner, how the Spring Market reacts to the Rate announcement will be a key indicator of how 1H of 2023 will shape up.
- There were 4,074 new active listings in December 2022 – down 21.3% compared to December 2021.
- The average sold price was $1,051,216 in December 2022 – down 9.2% compared to December 2021.
- There were 3,117 sales registered through TRREB’s MLS® System in December 2022 – down 48.2% compared to December 2021.
- The average days on market (DOM) is 40 days – up 110.5% compared to December 2021.
