February Market Update

High demand absorbs inventory at record pace in February 2021

Toronto February Real Estate Market Statistics

February 2020 was our last full month before COVID-19 hit and what many thought, in the early days of the pandemic, could possibly have been our last productive month of 2020. What happened next will be remembered as one of the biggest surprises in GTA real estate history – a boom year in sales and price appreciation. February 2021 is continuing the trend. Comparing it to February 2020 offers interesting insights, especially when comparing Absorption Rates.

An Absorption Rate tells us in how much time the existing inventory of homes will sell if no other listings are added to the market. In pre-pandemic February 2020, sales were up by 45.6% over the previous year with units selling at a rate of 1,674.5 per week. That pace coupled with the month’s active listings, down by 33.6% from the previous year, resulted in a very tight 5.3 weeks of available inventory for buyers.  In comparison, February 2021 sales were up by 52.5% over the previous year with units selling at a rate of 2,531.5 units per week. This February’s pace coupled with only 8,816 active listings, down 1% year over year for the period, resulted in a record high absorption rate of 3.5 weeks of inventory.  Absorption Rate is usually expressed in months, not weeks, with 1 – 4 months of inventory classified as a Sellers’ market. February 2021’s Absorption Rate offers a clear illustration of supply and demand in the GTA and why prices continue to accelerate.