The Greater Toronto Area saw 12,794 residential property transactions in June 2016, a 7.5 per cent increase compared to the 11,905 home sales reported during the same period last year, reports the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). The number of new listings fell 3.8 per cent, which is a consistent occurrence this year.

“As I start my term as TREB President, we are certainly in an interesting environment for ownership housing,” said Larry Cerqua, newly-elected TREB president, in a press release. “There is no doubt that demand is at a record level, but would-be home buyers continue to face an uphill battle against a constrained supply of listings, which has perpetuated strong price growth.”

“As the federal, provincial and local levels of government discuss housing policy in the coming months, issues affecting the lack of supply in the GTA should be of paramount importance,” he added. “TREB will be undertaking, and making public, results of additional research in the second half of 2016, with the goal of proactively adding to the housing policy discussion.”

The MLS Home Price Index Composite Benchmark increased 16 per cent year-over-year, while the average selling price for all home types was up by a slightly higher 16.8 per cent to $746,546. The single-detached, semi-detached and townhouse markets led in price growth.

“When TREB surveyed consumer intentions for 2016, we found that the majority of GTA households who were likely to purchase a home continued to be pointed toward some form of ground oriented housing,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s director of market analysis. “This is why we continue to see strong competition between buyers in many neighbourhoods where supply remains constrained.”