Low-rise homes led the Toronto region’s housing market back onto a growth trajectory in July, with detached home sales increasing nearly 44 percent over the previous year while townhomes rose by more than 31 percent.
Although the strength was focused in the low-rise market, condos also saw an annual sales increase greater than six percent compared to July 2019, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data released today.
All told, there were 11,081 homes sold in the Toronto region in July, the best result ever for the month. That total was up nearly 30 percent over the previous year and close to 50 percent over June.
“Sales activity was extremely strong for the first full month of summer. Normally we would see sales dip in July relative to June as more households take vacation, especially with children out of school,” said TRREB President Lisa Patel in a media release.
“This year, however, was different with pent-up demand from the COVID-19-related lull in April and May being satisfied in the summer, as economic recovery takes firmer hold, including the Stage 3 re-opening. In addition, fewer people are travelling, which has likely translated into more transactions and listings,” she continued.
Beyond the low-rise segment, strength continued to be more pronounced in the suburban regions surrounding the City of Toronto. There were 3,577 homes sold in the City of Toronto in July, up 15 percent from a year ago. In the suburban regions that TRREB calls the “905” collectively, there were 7,504 homes sold, up 37 percent from 2019 levels.
On the pricing front, TRREB’s home price index was up 10 percent over July of last year. The average selling price across the Toronto region increased nearly 17 percent to $943,710. The board noted that price growth was strongest in the low-rise market segment, with City of Toronto detached and semi-detached homes seeing the largest increases at 25.5 percent and 20 percent, respectively. The average selling price for a detached home in the City of Toronto was $1,541,003, while semi-detached homes posted a $1,181,014 average selling price.
“Competition between buyers continued to increase in many segments of the GTA ownership housing market in July, which fueled a further acceleration in year-over-year price growth in July compared to June,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.
“On top of this, we also experienced stronger sales growth in the more-expensive detached market segment, which helps explain why annual growth in the overall average selling price was stronger than growth for the MLS® HPI Composite benchmark,” he added.
