‘Troubling trend’ in Toronto real estate

July home sales hit all-time high, prices skyrocket 16.7 per cent

Toronto’s red hot housing market is on pace for another record-setting year, as July home sales hit an all-time high of nearly 10,000 and prices rose by 16.7 per cent compared with the same month last year.

The average resale price for houses in the GTA this year climbed to $709,825, up $100,950 since 2015, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) reported on Thursday.

Although sales were up, the number of new listings decreased by more than1,000, or 7 per cent, across the Toronto-area compared to last year, continuing a “troubling trend,” the TREB said in a news release.

The supply of single and semi-detached homes and townhouses hasn’t kept up with demand, and this has driven up prices, TREB director of market analysis Jason Mercer explained in an interview.

“You’re seeing a steady labour market. You’re seeing low interest rates. It makes sense that people are looking to purchase homes,” he said, “but the issue is that, in a lot of cases, the types of homes people want to buy — there’s a constrained supply of listings.”

The shortage appears most acute in the detached and semi-detached home categories, where sales in the 416-area market decreased by 6.5 per cent and11.5 per cent relative to July 2015.

The average price of both home types went up by about 20 per cent in Toronto over the same period.

Despite a proliferation of condos in the Toronto area, sales increased 10.3 per cent, including about1,882 within the 416. Average sale prices went up about 8.2 per cent in Toronto.

Meanwhile the 905 saw a 13-per-cent increase in sale price.

Meanwhile, in Vancouver, the housing market has shown some signs of cooling down, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) said on Wednesday based on July sales.

Their numbers predate a new 15-per- cent provincial tax on home transactions involving foreign buyers, which took effect on Aug. 2.

B.C. announced the tax to rein in runaway real estate prices and keep residents from being shut out of the market.

There were 3,226 sales in the Vancouver region last month. Sales are down18.9 per cent compared with July 2015, the REBGV said on Wednesday.

It is the first time since January that home sales dipped below the 4,000-mark in a month, the board noted.

“After several months of record-breaking sales activity, homebuyer demand returned to more historically normal levels in July,” said REBGV president, Dan Morrison.