Coronavirus Sends Toronto’s Housing Market Reeling in April

(Bloomberg) -- Toronto home prices dropped in April as the coronavirus pandemic froze real-estate activity across the country.

Sales in and around Canada’s largest city fell 66% to 2,347 from March on seasonally adjusted basis after open houses were canceled, according to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. The average price dropped 12% to C$789,274 ($560,400).

“The necessary social distancing and economic impacts associated with Covid-19 clearly impacted home sales and listings throughout April 2020,” TRREB President Michael Collins said in a statement.

Still, when compared to the year before, the market held up. Though transactions were down by two-thirds from April last year, the average selling price was little changed as new listings fell 64%. On a year-over-year basis, the benchmark price rose 10%.

“When thinking about home prices, it is important to remember that the pace of price growth is dictated by the relationship between sales and listings,” Jason Mercer, TRREB’s chief market analyst, said. “So while the onset of Covid-19 has understandably shifted market conditions and resulted in average selling prices coming off their March peak, there has continued to be enough active buyers relative to available listings to keep prices in line with last year’s levels.”

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