There’s an obvious strain on Canada’s housing supply, much of which is caused by a growing number of residents, a shortage of new homes being built, and a lack of affordable options. In January 2023, months of inventory for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) sat at exactly 2 months, while in August months of inventory edged up to 2.2 months. This is hardly a drastic change and paints the picture that inventory levels have not increased much since January. However, if we look at the numbers more closely, we can see how the housing supply in the GTA is improving, especially compared to the start of the year. 

To learn exactly how inventory levels have changed throughout 2023 in the GTA, Zoocasa analyzed the number of active listings for detached properties, semi-detached properties, townhouses, and condos in each region of the GTA from January 2023 to August 2023. The number of active listings for each region was sourced from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) and cities with fewer than 5 listings were excluded from the report.

Active Listings for Detached Properties Edging Up to Pre-Pandemic Levels

The City of Toronto started off the year with 865 active listings for detached homes, the highest number of active listings for January since before the pandemic. That number increased by 57% to 1,358 active listings for detached homes in August 2023, the highest number of active listings for August since 2020. 

Dufferin County, Peel Region, and Durham Region had even more impressive increases in active detached home listings at 104.2%, 91.9%, and 87.4% respectively. It’s important to note that for the purposes of this report, Dufferin County consists of only one small town, Orangeville, so there are fewer homes available which makes the increase seem more dramatic compared to other larger regions. In Peel Region, Brampton and Mississauga both had active detached home listings double from January and similarly in Durham Region, active detached home listings doubled in Ajax, Oshawa, Pickering, and Scugog. 

Compared to August 2022, 2021, and 2020, active detached home listings are up in almost every city, showing supply in the GTA is recovering to pre-pandemic levels. 

Condo Supply Growth Not as Pronounced as Other Property Types

The popularity of condos has risen as affordability has tightened, likely resulting in a slower rate of growth in active listings for condos. Still, active condo listings have increased in every region of the GTA except Durham Region, which experienced a 13% drop from January to August in the number of active condo listings. 

The largest increase in active condo listings was seen in Simcoe County and Peel Region, though the City of Toronto and York Region also experienced notable increases. Simcoe County doubled its number of active condo listings from January, rising from 30 to 60 and in Peel Region, the number of active condo listings increased from 399 in January to 649 in August 2023. 

Despite active condo listings increasing at a slower pace than other property types, the increase is more noticeable when compared to August 2022 and August 2021 numbers. In August 2022, there were just 2,981 active condo listings for the City of Toronto, while in August 2023 there were 3,733 listings. In August 2021, active condo listings for the City of Toronto were even lower at 2,609. 

Peel and York Region’s Semi-Detached and Townhouse Inventory Improved by More than 100%

Both Brampton and Mississauga’s active semi-detached listings grew from under 70 listings in January to more than 100 in August 2023, contributing to Peel Region’s 182.6% increase in active semi-detached listings from January. York Region has a smaller number of semi-detached properties available so its increase from 39 listings in January to 99 in August appears more dramatic. Of all the regions in the GTA, the City of Toronto has the most semi-detached listings, and experienced a 37% increase from 200 active semi-detached listings in January to 274 in August. 

Active townhouse listings increased by more than 100% in Peel Region, York Region, and Durham Region. Peel Region’s active townhouse listings grew from 99 in January to 233 in August, while York Region’s active townhouse listings grew from 140 in January to 320 listings in August. Durham Region’s active townhouse listings growth was largely driven by Oshawa and Whitby, which both started the year with 27 listings and grew to 51 and 58 listings in August respectively. 

Zoocasa(Mackenzie Scabetta, Sept. 21,2023)