The number of existing homes that sold in the Greater Toronto Area in January was down only slightly from a year ago, a development that the realtors’ associations says suggests that buyers are returning to the market.
There were 4,375 sales over the Multiple Listing Service during the month, compared to 4,432 in January of 2012. There had been 3,690 sales in December, down from 4,585 sales in December of 2011, as the market saw a sharp decline in year-over-year sales each month during the latter part of the year.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tightened up the rules for mortgage insurance in July by, among other things, cutting the maximum length of an insured mortgage from 30 years to 25. Realtors blamed the drop in sales on the new rules, saying that the changes knocked a number of first-time buyers out of the market.
Flaherty had been worried that consumers were taking on too much mortgage debt and that the price of homes were rising too quickly. Toronto’s condo market had been a particular worry for him.
The figures released Tuesday show that there were 730 sales of existing (as opposed to newly constructed) condos in Toronto’s downtown area covered by the 416 area code during January, down 4.5% from a year ago. In comparison 680 condos sold during December, down 26.9% from a year earlier.
The average selling price during January of all home types in the Greater Toronto Area was $482,648, up 4.3% from a year ago.
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