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The Greater Toronto Area is experiencing soft housing market conditions not seen since the recession in 2008, a new report has found.
National Bank of Canada Financial Markets released a report this month finding that housing in the Greater Toronto Area saw seasonally adjusted sales in August reach a low only nearing the depths seen in the same month in 2008, just before the financial crisis that negatively impacted housing markets across North America.
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At the same time, listings surged this past August to the second highest levels since 2008.
National Bank noted that new listings actually increased slightly month over month in August but, because of declining sales, inventories grew substantially.
It further noted that, on a year-over-year basis, home sales fell more than five per cent, reaching their lowest levels since 2000.
As well, year to date, sales were down 4.5 per cent from the same period last year.
Year to date, the GTA has seen the least market activity going back to 2001, the report further stated. The condominium segment led the decline in activity. In August, sales were down nearly 10 per cent from July. At the same time, active listings were up 1.5 per cent despite new listings falling nearly 12 per cent from August to July. The report further noted that condo market conditions had “softened” well below the historical average.
Sales for other housing types grew in August, up more than five per cent from July. Yet active listings increased more than seven per cent, the fifth month in a row of growth.
Despite growth in non-condo sales, National Bank added that the market conditions were as soft as they had been since 2011, excluding August 2020 during the pandemic.
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