Photo: James Bombales
According to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), sales of existing homes in the GTA totalled 6,338 in February an 11.3 per cent increase over the same time last year.
“Even with the record low temperatures last month, we still saw an increase in the number of people purchasing homes in the GTA,” said TREB President Paul Etherington.
The number of new listings in February dropped by 8.7 per cent, year-over-year, making the market all the more competitive for would-be homebuyers and pushing up prices. Last month, the average sale price for a GTA home hit $596,163, a 7.8 per cent surge compared to the same time last year.
The overall average inched closer to $600,000 thanks to activity in the detached market. In Toronto-proper, the average selling price for a detached house rose above the million dollar mark for the first time in a calendar month. The news come fresh off an RBC report that raised concerns about deteriorating affordability in Toronto. For all of 2014, the average sale price of a detached home in the city was $930,310.
Here’s a breakdown of the biggest gains in the GTA:
Sales
- Sales of detached houses in the 416 rose 16.9 per cent.
- Townhouse purchases in the 905 increased by 14.6 per cent.
- Detached house sales in 905 were up by 12.9 per cent.
Price growth
- Semis in the 905 saw prices rise by 11.6 per cent to an average sale price of $474,292
- Condos in the 905 region rose 10.9 per cent to $322,055.
- Detached home sales in Toronto-proper increased by 8.9 per cent to an average of $1,040,018
