Toronto home sales soar by 25% setting new October record

Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) were up 25% year-over-year in October for the fourth month in a row.

According to a report by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), 10,563 home sales were made last month, compared to 8,445 transactions in October 2019.

Sales and new listings reached record levels for the month of October, the report said.

Semi-detached homes saw the most demand from buyers in Toronto, with sales rising 29.6% year-over-year, according to TRREB. In the rest of the GTA, sales of detached homes saw the biggest rise year-over-year, up by 39%.

Toronto Regional Real Estate Board

Condos, on the other hand, saw a drop in sales of 8.5% year-over-year in Toronto. As the pandemic slowed economic development and halted tourism in the city, the short and long-term rental income many investors relied upon dried up, said Lisa Patel, TRREB’s President.

Average home prices were up for the month of October as well.

In Toronto, TRREB said the average price of a semi-detached home rose 4.8% year-over-year to $1,154,087, and detached homes jumped 11.2% to $1,470,857. The average price for a Toronto home in October was $1,025,925.

Toronto Regional Real Estate Board

John DiMichele, TRREB’s CEO, believes that the federal government’s immigration targets will lead to the high demand for housing continuing, even after the pandemic ends. The GTA will benefit from the population growth, he said, and newcomers will need a place to live.

“The economic recovery in some sectors coupled with low borrowing costs has kept home purchases top-of-mind for many GTA residents,” said Jason Mercer, TRREB’s Chief Market Analyst. “With that being said, we have not accounted for all of the pent-up demand that resulted from the spring downturn. Expect record or near-record home sales for the remainder of 2020.”