Toronto’s housing market appeared to stabilize in August as the number of sales grew and prices remained little changed from a year earlier, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).
The latest data shows that home sales in Toronto rose 8.5% to 6,839 in August from the same period a year ago. August sales were also 2% higher than in July of this year.
In terms of prices, TREB said that they rose 4.7% from a year earlier to $765,270. Housing in Canada’s largest metropolitan area has been stabilizing in recent months after a sharp decline earlier in the year.
Analysts say that government regulations implemented to lower prices and make housing more affordable were to blame for the volatility. The Toronto market began to slow last April after a foreign buyers’ tax was implemented. But it recovered much of the decline over this summer.
Detached homes lagged other housing segments in August, with the benchmark price in that segment dropping 1.9% from a year ago to $914,900. Condominiums led the price gains, rising 9.9% from last August to $505,500.
New home listings in Toronto were up 6%from a year ago to 12,166, while active listings rose 8.8% to 17,864 from 16,419 a year ago.
