Toronto sales set new record except one category

Recent numbers from one of the country’s largest real estate boards show a record amount of home sales for the month of July.

Yet another record has been set for home sales in July, an eight per cent increase compared to July 2014 -- however the price for a detached home dropped below $1 million for the first time in months.

“…Ownership demand has been driven not only by low borrowing costs, but also by the fact that the GTA economy has been performing quite well, with the unemployment rate lower compared to last year,” Mark McLean, president of the Toronto Real Estate Board, said in a release. “Home buyers remain confident in the long-term benefits of owning a home.”

The comments reflect confidence that the market is nowhere near a slowdown yet and the Toronto Real Estate Board expects that the city is still on pace for a record year.

The average price for a detached home in 416-neighbourhoods fell under $1 million; however the price increased 13.3 per cent year over year. Overall, including the 905, the average price for a detached home in the GTA is $787,607.

At the same time, the condo market has been taking off as TREB reported 2,429 sales, a 14.4 per cent increase year over year. The average price for a condo is $372,263, a 4.1 per cent increase.

For all property types, there were a total of 9,880 sales at an average price of $609,236, compared to 9,152 sales for an average price of $550,625. What’s more, listings were down to 14,699 from 15,081.

"With the level of inventory in the GTA trending below two months, many listings continued to generate a lot of interest from buyers,” McLean said. “Not surprisingly, this supported further price increases well above the rate of inflation.

Assuming similar interest rate and economic environments over the next five months, strong price growth will remain the norm for the rest of 2015.”