GTA and Toronto Housing Statistics for October 2024

As of October 2024, lower interest rates had not jolted the market. In October 2024 the Bank of Canada policy rate stood at 3.75%, the average sale price across the Greater Toronto Area was about $1,148,000, down 2% from a year earlier, and 5,575 properties sold that month, 22% fewer than in October 2023.

I am Moe Asgarian, a Broker in Toronto with Team Asgarian, ranked 47th at RE/MAX worldwide, and I go through these numbers every month because they decide how I price a listing and how I advise a buyer. Here is what the October 2024 data showed for the GTA and for the City of Toronto.

Where the Policy Rate Stood in October 2024

At the time of writing in early November 2024, the benchmark policy rate had come down to 3.75%, and another half point of cuts was expected before the end of 2024. The question I kept getting in 2024 was whether those cuts would push prices up quickly. For months I had said that interest rates matter a great deal in this market, but that a cut was not likely to have a fast effect on it. The October 2024 numbers were saying the same thing.

GTA Prices and Sales in October 2024

Data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board showed an average sale price in the GTA of about $1,148,000 in October 2024, which was 2% lower than the same month in 2023. In October 2024, sales came in at 5,575 properties, 22% below October 2023. Average days on market in the GTA was 27 days in October 2024, 22% lower than a year earlier. In October 2024, months of inventory stood at 4.5 months, so there were still a meaningful number of homes sitting in the market and the GTA as a whole was a long way from an ideal seller's market. One point worth noticing: set against the previous month or two, prices in October 2024 had been climbing month over month after reaching their low for the year in August 2024.

The City of Toronto Fell Further Than the GTA

The City of Toronto is the other market whose numbers deserve a look every month. In October 2024 the average sale price in the city was about $1,186,000, down 5% from October 2023. Notice what that means: in October 2024 the average price inside the city dropped more than the average across the whole GTA. In October 2024, sales in the city were 17% below the same month in 2023. Average days on market in the city in October 2024 was also 27 days, 23% lower than October 2023. In October 2024, months of inventory in the city was high at 4.9 months, and the main reason is the number of condos in Toronto that were still sitting on the market without finding a buyer.

Two of Our Own Sales, in Richmond Hill and North York

A short note from my own deals in October 2024. We sold two apartments from our listings that month. One was in Richmond Hill, where we set a genuinely attractive price based on a comparable sale that had already gone through, and in October 2024 it sold in two days, and I will repeat that, two days, at close to the asking price. The other was a two bedroom apartment in North York with a very good layout. We staged it and prepared it properly, and it sold in October 2024 after a little more than a month on the market. Both results told me the same thing: the rate cuts of 2024 had been enough of an incentive to bring more buyers into the market to test their chances.

October Against September, and the Seasonal Pattern

If you compare average prices across all product types in the City of Toronto, condos, detached houses and townhouses together, against the previous month or two, they were drifting slightly higher on a very gentle slope in October 2024. Part of that can be seasonality. Looking back from 2024 over the previous ten years, the October market came in above September on average price in every one of those years. So a mild increase in October 2024 was not by itself proof that the rate cuts had turned the market.

Why the Rate Cuts Did Not Create a Rush

The forecast I had been making for several months, that lower rates would not have an instant or explosive effect, was being borne out by the October 2024 data. Many analysts in 2024 gave the same reasons. In October 2024 a large number of properties were in the market and were not selling. Canada's economic conditions in 2024 were not good, and plenty of buyers, first time buyers above all, simply could not afford a home. It is worth remembering that the reason the Bank of Canada was cutting rates this quickly in 2024 was to create an incentive for economic growth. The approach stays the same either way: follow the data month by month, watch the market closely, and adjust strategy as conditions change. That is what my colleagues and I do continuously, and we put that analysis in front of our clients.

If you have a question about a specific area in Toronto or the wider GTA, or you want advice on buying or selling, fill out the form at the bottom of this page or book a free consultation and we can go through your situation together. Stay well and take care.