Home sales in the Toronto, Canada, market slipped for the fifth straight month in October, while inventory levels failed to dampen price growth, the Toronto Real Estate Board reported today.
The 6,876 single-family home sales recorded through the TorontoMLS system last month were 4 percent below the 7,174 sales in October 2005, according to TREB, but were up from 6,622 in September.
The average price of an existing home in the metro area registered $356,423 in October, up from $349,142 in September, and up 4 percent from $342,450 posted in October 2005.
“The market has shown strong overall numbers despite having normalized from record activity,” said TREB President Dorothy Mason. “Year-to-date figures show this year within one and a half percent of 2005’s record pace, and October sales were 4 percent higher than September’s, indicating a solid autumn market.”
Despite the regional slowdown, three neighborhoods reported double-digit annual sales gains, TREB reported. In The Beach neighborhood of Toronto, overall sales were 45 percent higher than October 2005, led by a large increase in semi-detached housing transactions. In Rexdale, a jump in condominium activity contributed to a 23 percent year-over-year gain in October, while outside the city, Richmond Hill North showed an overall increase of 32 percent compared to last October, with detached homes the most common housing type.
TREB reported that 13,116 new single-family listings were added to the market last month, bringing the total number of active listings to 24,367, up 6 percent from the year-ago level of 22,875. Last month’s supply of single-family for-sale inventory was down nearly 2,000 units from September, suggesting a drop in sellers’ confidence in the housing market.
