August 4, 2016 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President
Larry Cerqua announced that TREB REALTOR® Members reported 9,989 home sales
through TREB's MLS® System in July 2016. At just shy of 10,000 transactions,
this was the best result on record for the month of July.
While sales were up on a year-over-year basis, the number of new listings was
down over the same period, representing the continuation of a troubling trend
in the GTA. "GTA REALTORS® have been working very hard on behalf of their
buyer clients to help them find a home meeting their needs. Unfortunately,
listings for single-detached and semi-detached houses and townhouses continue
to be in short supply. The result has been an increase in pent-up demand and
annual rates of price increases well above the rate of inflation. Housing
policy is now top of mind for all levels of government. Policy makers need to
be focusing on solutions to the sustained lack of low-rise inventory throughout
the GTA," said Mr. Cerqua.
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI)
Composite Benchmark was up by 16.7 per cent in July 2016 compared to the same
month a year earlier. Similarly, the average selling price for all home types
combined was up by 16.6 per cent year-over-year to $709,825.
"Relatively strong labour
market conditions, above-inflation average income growth, and record low
borrowing costs have kept many households confident about purchasing a home. As
long as very strong buying intentions are up against an extreme shortage of
listings, expect home price growth to greatly outpace the rate of
inflation," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.
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