Greater Toronto home prices crept up in 2017, despite a surge in inventory and a decrease in home sales, according to a report released Thursday by the Toronto Real Estate Board.
The average selling price for a home in the region was C$822,681 (US$656,499) in 2017, up 12.7% compared to the prior year’s average of price of C$729,837 (US$582,409). Prices in the city of Toronto alone logged a similar rise in the same time frame, increasing in 2017 by 12.6% to C$834,138 (US$665,642) from C$740,633 (US$591,025) in 2016, according to the report.
More:UAE Tax Could Lead to Higher Quality Homes, Better Deals
The growth was primarily driven by extremely tight market conditions during the first four months of 2017, as opposed to the latter two-thirds of the year, the report said, in which fewer sales and an increased volume of listings resulted in slower price growth. April’s announcement of the Ontario Fair Housing Plan also affected sales, though the impact of the plan started to wane in the fourth quarter, the report said.
"Much of the sales volatility in 2017 was brought about by government policy decisions," said board president Tim Syrianos in a statement.
Research "showed that foreign home buying was not a major driver of sales in the Greater Toronto Area," he continued. "However, the Ontario Fair Housing Plan, which included a foreign buyer tax, had a marked psychological impact on the marketplace." The Ontario Fair Housing Plan also plans to increase housing supply—including introducing legislation that could implement a vacant homes property tax—and establish legislation to protect renters.
More:An Over 400-Acre Upstate New York Farm with Rock N’ Roll Ties
The Greater Toronto Area logged 92,394 sales through the Toronto Real Estate Board’s MLS System in 2017, the report said, down 18.3% compared to the record 113,040 sales recorded in 2016.
The number of new listings in the area reached 178,489 last year, up 15.7% from the 154,230 new listings logged the prior year.
Meanwhile, across the country in Vancouver and its surrounding areas, both the number of closed sales and the number of listings fell significantly, but home prices rose thanks to a relatively strong condominium market, according to a year-end report by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver released Wednesday.