In February, 7,621 home sale transactions took place in the Greater Toronto Area, a 21.1 per cent increase compared to February 2015, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).
The number of new listings in the TREB’s MLS System also increased year-over-year by 8.2 per cent. The annual rate of sales growth outperformed the annual rate of new listings growth, indicating tighter market conditions compared to last year.
“Even after accounting for the leap year day, sales were above the previous record for February set back in 2010,” said Mark McLean, TREB president, in a press release. “Sales were up strongly from the 15th day of the month onward as well, despite the new federal mortgage lending guidelines coming into effect that require at least a 10 per cent down payment on the portion of purchase prices between $500,000 and $1,000,000.”
Seller’s market conditions continued for the GTA in February, with competition between buyers causing healthy growth in home prices. The MLS Home Price Index Composite Benchmark increased 11.3 per cent year-over-year. The average selling price for a home in the GTA was $685,278, a 14.9 per cent annual increase.
“Recent polling conducted for TREB by Ipsos suggested that GTA households will remain upbeat about purchasing a home in 2016. Early sales results for January and February certainly support this view,” said Jason Mercer, TREB director of market analysis. “With strong sales up against a constrained supply of listings, home prices continued to trend strongly upward.”
