GTA Housing in August

By Elli Davis, September 13, 2012

Toronto Downtown by Jay Woodworth

August, the last full summer month, is over. As upsetting as it might be to realize autumn really is right before us, for all those who follow real estate news in their area, a new month means new housing data. If you have not seen the Greater Toronto Area housing report for last month, here are is basic findings.

Continuing the trend from the last two month, the year-to-year numbers do not look very positive. As Greater Toronto Area Realtors reported, 6,418 homes were sold through the Toronto MLS system in the area. In comparison with August 2011 and its 7,330 transactions, it is a 12.4 per cent decline. Toronto’s Land Transfer Tax, as well as stricter mortgage rules, undoubtedly played a significant role in the decrease of sales. The fall was not only recorded in sales, however. New listings also decreased over the year. The number of new listings declined by 5.5 percent, from 11,748 to 12,430.

On the other hand, active listings saw a 10.5 per cent increase, from 17,233 in August 2011 to 19,043 last month. Similarly, the average selling price went up from by 6.4 per cent over the year, from $450,323 to $479,095. While I would like to say I am expecting much better results over the next months, this is not true. With the tax and strict mortgage rules, the data are not likely to change until buyers are accommodated to the new situation completely, and something like that always takes some time.

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