The average price of a house in Toronto reached $1.1 million in August as supply continued to tighten during the summer months.
Data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREB) showed that 8,596 homes changed hands in August, down 19.9% from a year earlier, while new listings plunged 43% to 10,609 available residences. Meanwhile, sales were down 8.2% from July.
Sales of detached homes were down 31.5% in August from the same month a year earlier with only 3,704 houses sold in the month, while sales of semi-detached and townhouses also fell. Only the condominium segment saw an increase in sales, rising 11.3% from last year with 2,544 units changing hands.
However, despite the sales declines, the average selling price of a house in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) jumped 12.6% from a year earlier to $1.1 million. Price growth was driven by single-family and townhouse property segments. On a sequential basis, prices rose by about 0.8%, the TREB data showed.
Housing affordability has become an election issue in Canada with political party leaders promising to implement a range of measures including new foreign buyers taxes, banning blind bidding and encouraging new supplies of housing.
Despite the political promises, TREB doesn’t anticipate much relief on the horizon for frustrated homebuyers, especially as population growth in the GTA returns to pre-pandemic levels.
