According to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), there were 8,804 homes sold in the Greater Toronto Area through the MLS System in October 2015, which is the highest result on record for the month of October.

“It is clear that many GTA households remain upbeat about home ownership because owning a home represents a high quality, long-term investment. We will see a big, new record this year for home sales reported through TREB’s MLS System,” said TREB president Mark McLean, in a press release.

McLean went on to point out that in the near future, the Government of Ontario could cause slowing sales in the province, thanks to the possible addition of a second land transfer tax on top of the existing provincial tax.

“Recent polling has shown that the great majority of Ontarians oppose this tax and would consider delaying a move if they were forced to bear the additional upfront cost,” added McLean.

The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark increased by 10.3 per cent year-over-year in October, while the average selling price across all home types increased by 7.3 per cent to $630,876. This is largely due by the low-rise market segments, according to the TREB.

“Record sales coupled with a constrained supply of listings in many GTA neighbourhoods has underpinned very strong price growth throughout 2015,” said Jason Mercer, TREB director of Market Analysis, in a press release. “Even if we do see a greater supply of low-rise listings in the marketplace over the next year, market conditions will remain tight enough to see continued price growth well above the rate of inflation.”