A near-record number of homes sold in the Greater Toronto area in October as the market grew 8 percent from a year ago, the Toronto Real Estate Board announced today.
Sales totals for the month of October hit 7,164, up 8 percent from 6,666 sales a year ago and within 1 percent of the best October ever, in 2003.
The number of resale homes that have changed hands so far this year surpassed the record pace of 2004 during October, putting 2005 on pace for a new all-time record, Toronto Real Estate Board President John Meehan said.
“The strength of the market over the past few months has been significant enough to improve the year’s overall performance,” Meehan said. “It has also repeatedly given consumers strong evidence that the housing market is very stable.”
The median price for a home in the Greater Toronto area in October was $291,000, up 0.3 percent from the previous month.
In a number of areas within the city of Toronto and its surrounding regions, transactions of detached homes contributed to particularly strong overall sales figures during October.
The South Humber area of Etobicoke showed an overall increase in sales of 55 percent compared to October 2004.
Detached homes and condo townhouses made up the majority of the transactions in the Clarkson/Lorne Park area of Mississauga, as that area showed an overall increase of 35 percent compared to a year ago.
The Lawrence Manor/Bedford Park area of Toronto showed an overall increase of 41 percent over October 2004.
North of Toronto, the area of Markham/Unionville showed a 44 percent increase in transactions over the same timeframe.
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