Sales of Toronto townhouses have fallen off a cliff

Toronto real estate is a never-ending whirlwind.

A new report from Zoocasa shows that townhouse sales have plummeted dramatically this month, and are expected to continue dropping.

The mid-month statistics reveal that townhouse sales fell 48 percent year-over-year in Toronto, and plunged 62.1 percent in the GTA month-over-month.

At first glance, it may seem that the total inventory of available townhouses is dropping, leading sales to drop as well. However, the report only shows a 15 percent drop in available inventory since October 2016.

While this is significant, it pales in comparison to the drop in sales.

The sales-to-new-listings ratio sat around 36.1 percent, which indicates a buyer's market. A ratio between 40 and 60 percent would indicate a balanced market, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Home sales in all categories fell, but not as much as townhouses. Since October of last year, condo sales were down 42 percent, semi-detached houses were down 35 percent, and detached houses fell 34 percent.

Policies from the Ontario government and fears of housing bubbles bursting may have significant impact on sales numbers.

Why townhouses specifically fell is not known. It may be a result of buyers taking higher interest in detached homes, which saw a slight sales increase of a modest one percent in the City, and 11 percent across the GTA.