The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) reports that the GTA recorded 7,998 residential transactions through the MLS System in August, a 5.7-per-cent increase from the 7,568 sales reported in August of last year. This trend extended across all major home types in the GTA.

Annual growth in new listings was higher than annual growth in sales, but active listings at the end of August had still decreased compared to last year, indicating it remains a sellers’ market, especially in low-rise home types such as singles, semis and townhouses.

“Buyers in the GTA remain confident in their ability to purchase and pay for a home over the long term,” said TREB President Mark McLean in a press release. “They see ownership housing as a quality investment that has historically produced positive returns while at the same time providing owners with a place to live in their chosen community.”

The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark and the average selling price across all home types both increased by about 10 per cent year-over-year.

“A record year for home sales continued to unfold in August as competition between buyers exerted upward pressure on selling prices,” said Jason Mercer, director of market analysis at TREB, in a press release. “It was encouraging to see annual growth in new listings outstrip annual growth in sales, but we will need to see this for a number of months before market conditions become more balanced.”