Toronto Skyline at Sunrise
in August by Michael Gil
Greater Toronto REALTORS® released their report about August home sales in the GTA. The figures show that this past August was very strong, with 7,542 sales reported through the Toronto MLS® system. That’s a 24 per cent increase compared to last August, with only 6,083 sales. The number of new listings was 12,509, which is 20 per cent more than in August 2010. The market remained very competitive as the increase in sales highly exceeded the increase in new listings.
Home sales experienced a decent growth this August, although there were some doubts in the economic outlook according to Richard Silver, Toronto Real Estate Board President. He explains, “Home sales will be bolstered by low mortgage rates moving forward. The Bank of Canada is expected to be on the sidelines until the second half of 2012 or even into 2013. However, home ownership affordability in the City of Toronto could be further improved with the removal of the City’s land transfer tax. This tax currently represents a substantial upfront cost for home buyers.“
High market competition in the GTA resulted in a strong 10 per cent year-over-year increase of the average selling price, which settled at $451,663.
According to Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis, market predictions for the rest of the year remain positive, with approximately 90,000 transactions expected by the end of December. Moreover, Mercer says that “major home ownership costs, including the average monthly mortgage payment, remain affordable despite the strong price growth experienced so far this year.“
