Real Estate Market March 2024

09 Apr Real Estate Market March 2024

Your March 2024 real estate market update is here! Covering Toronto, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton and the surrounding areas.

Highlights of the real estate market from TREBB and RAHB

March 2024 home sales reported through TRREB’s MLS® System were lower than the March 2023 result, due in part to the statutory holiday Good Friday falling in March this year versus April last year. Despite a better-supplied market compared to last year, there was enough competition between buyers to see a moderate increase in the average March home price compared to last year’s level.

Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS® reported 6,560 sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in March 2024 – down by 4.5% compared to March 2023. New listings were up by 15% over the same period. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, sales were down by 1.1%. New listings were down by 3% compared to February. The first quarter ended with sales up by 11.2% year-over-year. New listings were up by a greater annual rate of 18.3%.

“We have seen a gradual improvement in market conditions over the past quarter. More buyers have adjusted to the higher interest rate environment. At the same time, homeowners may be anticipating an improvement in market conditions in the spring, which helps explain the marked increase in new listings so far this year. Assuming we benefit from lower borrowing costs in the near future, sales will increase further, new listings will be absorbed, and tighter market conditions will push selling prices higher,” said TRREB President Jennifer Pearce.

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite benchmark was up by 0.3% year-over-year. The average selling price was up by 1.3% to $1,121,615. On a seasonally-adjusted month-over-month basis, the MLS® HPI Composite was up by 0.2% and the average selling price was up by 0.7% compared to February. “The average selling price edged up in comparison to last year as we moved through the first quarter of 2024. Price growth is expected to accelerate during the spring and even more so in the second half of the year, as sales growth catches up with listings growth and sellers’ market conditions start to emerge in many neighbourhoods. Lower borrowing costs in the months ahead will help fuel increased demand for ownership housing,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.

Over in the Hamilton-Burlington area, sales in March reached 996 units, nearly 6% lower than last year’s levels. The decline in March sales was not enough to offset the gains reported over the first two months of 2024. However, first-quarter sales in the region remain below long-term trends for the year. Meanwhile, new listings have continued to rise, keeping the sales-to-new listings ratio below 60% and supporting further inventory gains. Inventory levels have increased by 28% compared to last March, but levels last year were still exceptionally low.

“Recent gains in inventory are helping our market return to more balanced conditions, something that we have not seen since 2014. It is still early in the year, and many purchasers may be waiting for changes in lending rates, but for the first time in years, we are not entering the spring market with limited supply,” says Julie Sergi, President-Elect of the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB).

Inventory levels in March closed out with just over two months of supply. This is an increase over last year but lower than the four months of supply reported at the end of 2023.
Conditions are the tightest in the Burlington region, with less than two months of supply. Haldimand saw the highest supply-to-demand ratios, with just below four months of supply.

The unadjusted benchmark price rose to $850,500 this March, nearly 2% higher than March 2023. Prices trended up across all regions in the RAHB market area, with the largest year-over-year gain occurring in Haldimand, followed by Hamilton. Prices remain below the 2022 peak but are still much higher than levels reported prior to the pandemic.

Questions about buying or selling? Reach out anytime, I’d be happy to discuss the market with you!

All the latest home prices and statistics by property type and city below!

Sources for Real Estate Market Update for March 2024 : Toronto Regional Real Estate Board and REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington