The resale housing market in Toronto, Canada, recorded the second-highest number of transactions ever in the month of July, the Toronto Real Estate Board reported.
With 7,387 single-family homes transacted last month, sales were up 1 percent over the 7,329 sales recorded in July 2004, TREB President John Meehan said.
Neighborhoods outside Toronto’s city center showed some of the strongest numbers for the month.
In Richmond Hill, sales of detached homes fueled an 18 percent gain over July 2004, with its North area seeing an increase of 21 percent.
In Mississauga, North Cooksville and Northwest Cooksville each showed gains of 33 percent over July 2004, the latter buoyed by strong condominium sales near Mississauga’s city center.
Strong condo sales also contributed to a 15 percent increase in transactions over last July in North York, where condos are the most popular housing type.
“Robust activity in the condominium sector is making believers out of those who were skeptics and demonstrating that the condo market is actually very healthy,” Meehan added.
While sales were strong, prices eased 5 percent in July, with the average coming in at $326,034 compared with the $345,065 recorded in June. This figure is up 4 percent, however, from the $312,418 figure recorded in July 2004.
Jason Mercer, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s senior market analyst for the Greater Toronto Area, added that the long-term health of the housing market has kept condo sales strong.
“As the year-over-year growth in average resale price has remained above the general rate of inflation, we have seen increasing interest in more affordable multiple-family homes, such as townhomes and condominium units. These market segments will continue to be a key driver of sales going forward,” Mercer said.
The Toronto Real Estate Board serves more than 22,000 Realtors throughout the Greater Toronto area.
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