Greater Toronto Area home sales climbed year-over-year as prices eased under the weight of growing listings
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Greater Toronto Area home sales in August were up on a year-over-year basis, while home prices remained under pressure as new listings outpaced sales.
Buyers no longer have to compete fiercely for properties in the Toronto region. There are many homes currently listed on the market and more homeowners are putting their properties up for sale.
Buyers have taken advantage of this increased choice and negotiated selling prices downward, on average, over the past year. Last month, the average price was down 5.2 per cent compared to the same time last year, reaching $1.02 million. While buyers are negotiating on pricing, they are also asking for more conditions such as home inspections and longer closings.
The steepest price decline was among condos in the Toronto suburbs, where the average price fell 10.6 per cent to $594k compared with August last year. The condo market across the Toronto region has been flooded by new units as developers finish constructing a record number of buildings.
A household earning the average income in the Greater Toronto Area is still finding it challenging to afford the monthly mortgage payment associated with the purchase of an average priced home. This is even with lower borrowing costs and selling prices over the past year. Looking ahead, further relief in borrowing costs would see an increased number of buyers move off the sidelines to take advantage of today’s well-supplied market.