Toronto, Canada’s largest city, set a record for yearly sales as it broke new territory for the month of November, 2015 according to new data out Thursday.
The Toronto Real Estate Board President said there 7,385 home sold through the multiple listing service last month, a 14 per cent increase from a year ago. It was the best November ever and pushed 2015 sales to 96,401.
“Not only did we see a record sales result for November, but with one month left to go in 2015, we have already set a new calendar year record for home sales in the TREB market area, eclipsing the previous record set in 2007. Sales were up on a year-over-year basis for all major home types, both in the city of Toronto and surrounding regions,” Mark McLean, the board’s president, said in a statement.
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TREB’s composite benchmark index was also up by 10.3 per cent year over year in November, as Toronto followed Vancouver — leaving policy makers with some tough decisions on how to deal with a housing market that is red hot in essentially just two cities.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported Wednesday that sales were up 40.1 per cent from a year ago while its benchmark price rose 17.8 per cent during the period.
In Toronto, the average sale price of a home rose 9.6 per cent from a year ago with the strongest growth reported in low-rise homes that included detached and semi-detached properties.
“Demand for ownership housing has remained strong in the GTA throughout 2015, with sales generally increasing at a greater annual rate compared to new listings. This means that competition between buyers has strengthened in many neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto and surrounding regions.
The end result has been upward pressure on home prices well above the rate of inflation in most cases,” said Jason Mercer, director of market analysis for the board.
In the detached category, the average home in the city of Toronto sold for $1,018,621, a 8.8 per cent increase from a year ago. Overall, the average detached home in the region was 10.7 per cent from a year ago.
By comparison, the average detached home sale price in Vancouver reached $1,579.170
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