Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area were down 23.3 percent in April amid continued uncertainty over the economy.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said 5,601 homes were sold last month, compared with 7,302 in April 2024, while sales were up 1.8 percent from March on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The board said 18,836 new properties were listed in the GTA last month, up 8.1 percent compared with last year.
With inventory continuing to rise and prices falling, the preconditions for a housing rebound are in place, the board said, but that likely won’t happen until economic confidence is restored.
“Following the recent federal election, many households across the GTA are closely monitoring the evolution of our trade relationship with the United States,” said TRREB president Elechia Barry-Sproule in a press release.
“If this relationship moves in a positive direction, we could see an uptick in transactions driven by improved consumer confidence and a market that is both more affordable and better supplied.”
The average selling price decreased 4.1 percent compared with a year earlier to $1,107,463, and the composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 5.4 percent year-over-year.
Active listings hit 27,386 last month, up 54 percent from April 2024’s inventory of 17,783 units.
“Inventory levels remained elevated historically in April, pointing to substantial choice for households looking to purchase a home in the GTA,” said TRREB chief information officer Jason Mercer in a press release.
“Right now, resale housing supply is increasing in the GTA. However, as demand picks up and the population continues to grow with immigration, we will need to build more homes.”
In the City of Toronto, there were 2,129 sales last month, a 17.7 percent decrease from April 2024. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales fell 26.4 percent to 3,472.
All property types saw fewer sales in April compared with a year ago throughout the region.
The steepest decline was in the condo market, where 30.4 percent fewer properties sold, followed by townhouses with 22.9 percent fewer sales and detached houses recording a 21.7 percent decrease. There were 10 percent fewer sales of semi-detached homes.
