February 2019. This sales total was down by 2.4 per cent on a year-over-year basis. Sales were
also down compared to January 2019 following preliminary seasonal adjustment.
"The OSFI mandated mortgage stress test has left some buyers on the sidelines who have struggled
to qualify for the type of home they want to buy. The stress test should be reviewed and consideration
should be given to bringing back 30 year amortizations for federally insured mortgages. There is a federal
budget and election on the horizon. It will be interesting to see what policy measures are announced to help with home ownership affordability," said Mr. Bhaura.
Despite sales being down year-over-year, new listings actually declined by a greater annual rate. This suggests that market conditions became tighter compared to last year. Tighter market conditions continued to support year-over-year average price growth.
Both the MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark and the average selling price were up modestly on a year-over-year basis in February 2019. The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark was up by 2.4 per
cent year-over-year. The average selling price for all home types combined was up by 1.6 per cent over
the same period. Price growth was driven by the condominium apartment segment and higher density
low-rise home types. On a preliminary seasonally adjusted basis the average selling price was down
compared to January 2019.
"Home sales reported through TREB's MLS® System have a substantial impact on the Canadian economy.
A study conducted by Altus for TREB found that, on average, each home sale reported through TREB
resulted in $68,000 in spin-off expenditures accruing to the economy. With sales substantially lower than
the 2016 record peak over the last two years, we have experienced a hit to the economy in the billions of
dollars, in the GTA alone. This hit has also translated into lower government revenues and, if sustained,
could impact the employment picture as well," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis and
Service Channels.