Home sales in Greater Toronto and the Vancouver market each fell 47% in February from a year earlier as higher mortgage rates continue to depress the real estate market nationwide.
Home sales across the Great Toronto Area (GTA) during February totalled 4,783, down 47% from 9,028 a year earlier.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) said the average selling price in February totalled $1.10 million, roughly 5% higher than the average January price of $1.04 million.
The real estate board blamed the sales decline on higher mortgage rates caused by ongoing interest rate hikes from the Bank of Canada. Buyers in the GTA continue to put off home purchases as they wait for more favorable interest rates.
New listings in Toronto are also lower than a year ago, totaling 8,367 in February, which was down 41% from a year ago.
Vancouver Sales Continue To Slump
It was a similar story across the country in Vancouver, where February home sales were also down 47% from a year ago.
Sales in Metro Vancouver totalled 1,808 in February, which was 33% below the 10-year February sales average.
The benchmark price for a home in Vancouver stood at $1.12 million in February, a 9.3% drop from the same month of 2022.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said the numbers reflect a continued reluctance on the part of prospective home sellers to list their properties.
However, the number of homes for sale in Vancouver has continued inching upwards, increasing by 16.7% from February 2022 and 5.2% from this past January.
