Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) rose 25% in May from a year earlier and were up 20% from April as Canada’s biggest housing market continues to recover from a sharp slowdown prompted by higher mortgage rates.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) said that 9,012 homes were sold across the GTA in May, up 25% from a year earlier.
The real estate board said that demand for homes has gathered steam in recent months after the Bank of Canada signalled a pause in interest rate increases after hiking rates eight times in a little more than a year.
However, there are signs that supply is not keeping up with demand currently as the number of new listings in May totalled 15,194, 19% lower than a year earlier.
The average selling price of a home in the GTA hit $1.2 million in May, about 1% lower than in May 2022 but up 4% from this April.
Vancouver Sales Strengthen:
On the other side of the country, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said May home sales rose 15.7% from a year earlier.
The real estate board said Vancouver's housing market is showing signs of recovery as summer approaches, with prices now having increased for six consecutive months.
Sales in May across Vancouver totalled 3,411, which was 1.4% below the 10-year seasonal average of 3,458.
The benchmark price for a residential property in Metro Vancouver was $1.2 million in May, down 5.6% from a year ago but up 1.3% from April.
There were 5,661 new homes listed for sale last month, an 11.5% decrease compared with a year ago and 4.3% lower than the 10-year seasonal average of 5,917.
