Shortage of listings - one key factor driving Toronto, Vancouver home prices - Toronto Real Estate

The Toronto and Vancouver housing markets are experiencing “historically low supply,” according to National Bank Financial – and it’s putting upward pressure on already frothy prices.

Metro Vancouver closed the first quarter with 7,358 properties for sale, a 40.5-per-cent decline from March of 2015. Active listings in Toronto fell by 20.7 per cent in March from a year earlier.

National Bank notes that in both cities, active listings at the end of the first quarter were at their lowest levels for an opening quarter in “at least” a dozen years.

At the same time, demand remains voracious in both markets. Vancouver is coming off a record March for sales, while Toronto just notched a record first quarter.

“In both cities, sales growth has outpaced new listings growth,” National Bank said in its research note, adding: “The combination of high demand and low supply of course puts pressure on prices.”

The average sale price for a detached home in Toronto’s 416 area last month was $1.17-million, up 12.4 per cent from a year ago. The benchmark price for detached homes in Greater Vancouver was $1.34-million in March, a 27.4-per-cent increase from a year earlier.

The Toronto Real Estate Board acknowledged the “constrained” housing supply on Tuesday, when its latest monthly figures were released.

“Demand was clearly not an issue in the first three months of 2016, regardless of the housing market segment being considered,” said Jason Mercer, director of market analysis, in a statement.

“The supply of listings, however, continued to aggravate many would-be home buyers.”

Read the full post in Globe And Mail

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