Greater Toronto Area realtors reported 8,701 home sales in June, a 1.4 per cent drop compared to June 2019, and a much larger increase compared to sales results in May that saw a 53.7 per cent decline year-over-year or even the first part of April that saw a 69 per cent dive.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) also found the majority of home sales happened in the detached and townhome markets outside Toronto. Most of the demand in the city was seen in condo apartments (1,793 homes sold) and detached homes (4,445 homes sold). Although, looking at last year’s stats for June, condo sales were down 16.3 per cent with a 7 per cent increase in price.

Overall, GTA home prices were up in all segments by almost 12 per cent since last June, averaging $930,869. Compared to a year earlier, detached and semi-detached markets in Toronto saw the most price growth at 14.3 per cent and 22 per cent respectively, pointing to a resurgence in higher-end homes.

“Before the onset of COVID-19, there was a great deal of pent-up demand in the market,” said TRREB President Lisa Patel. “This pent-up demand arguably increased further over the past three months. We are still in the early days of recovery, but barring any setbacks, we should continue to see stronger market conditions in the second half of 2020 as households look to satisfy their ownership housing needs.”

There still aren’t enough listings to keep up with demand. In June, new listings were up 2.1 per cent year-over-year, but active listings were down 28.8 per cent compared to June 2019.

“The persistent lack of listing inventory in the GTA understandably took a back seat to COVID-related issues in the short term, but supply should once again be top-of-mind once the recovery takes hold, in order to ensure long-term affordability in the GTA,” said TRREB CEO John DiMichele.