Homebuyers benefit from nearly 25% increase in available homes in Mississauga: Report

The latest real estate numbers across the GTA represent good news for homebuyers in Mississauga, according to experts who study the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s (TRREB) figures each month.

The most recent report from real estate website and brokerage Zoocasa, released today, notes that the current environment is “great news for buyers” in Canada’s seventh-largest city as inventory continues to rebuild in Mississauga — up nearly 25 per cent from August.

“In September, the number of active listings improved by 23.14 per cent month-over-month to 1,708 units. With this increase in inventory, properties are now spending an average of 32 days on the market, an increase of two days from the previous month,” the Zoocasa report states. “Overall, sales declined by 23.56 per cent from August, down to 386 homes trading hands, and the average price followed suit, declining 3.4 per cent to $1,021,324.”

According to the report, the biggest drop in sales numbers in Mississauga was for semi-detached and townhouse sales, declining to 36 and 13 sales, respectively.

On the flip side, the report notes, detached homes and condo apartments remain the most in-demand property types in Mississauga. However, both still experienced a drop in sales numbers in September.

“This really speaks to just how much buyers have been impacted by increasing interest rates, with another Bank of Canada announcement looming in October (Oct. 25). However, those who have locked in an interest rate may find the market favours them, with home prices dipping and inventory rebuilding, like with the detached market in Mississauga.”

The average price of a Mississauga detached home declined by 7.93 per cent to $1,439,735 in September, according to the report, and the number of sales followed suit, dropping by 17.16 per cent to 140 detached units trading hands.

Other revelations in the Zoocasa report:

• new listings increased by “a staggering 40.63 per cent” in just one month, meaning 540 detached homes were listed in September
• 122 condo apartments traded hands in Mississauga in September, down 21.29 per cent from August (but the price continues to rise, now at $652,653, or an increase of 3.61 per cent month-over-month)
• the number of new condo listings improved by 19.79 per cent
  to 466 condo apartments entering the market (which has slowed the pace at which they are selling, the sell time now averaging 25 days, up by two days from August)

The Zoocasa report makes the more general, GTA-wide observation that the fall market “is off to a calm start as home supply builds, giving buyers more choices and less competition.”

But the uncertainty around the Bank of Canada’s next interest rate announcement, coming Oct. 25, is also “creating some hesitancy for Toronto buyers, resulting in fewer homes sold last month.”

Meanwhile, TRREB officials noted that the “impact of high borrowing costs, high inflation, uncertainty surrounding future Bank of Canada decisions and slower economic growth continued to weigh on Greater Toronto Area home sales in September.”

They added that the short- and medium-term outlooks for the GTA housing market are quite different.

“In the short term, the consensus view is that borrowing costs will remain elevated until mid-2024, after which they will start to trend lower. This suggests that we should start to see a marked uptick in demand for ownership housing in the second half of next year as lower rates and record population growth spur an increase in buyers,” said TRREB president Paul Baron in a news release.