TRREB chief: 'It's clear that a growing number of households are finding affordable options for homeownership'
Toronto home sales jumped unexpectedly last month, rising by 13% over June as buyers pushed ahead with purchases despite continuing economic uncertainty and a trade war.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) said on Wednesday morning that July home sales totalled 6,100 across the city, up 10.9% over the same time last year, with new listings also continuing to rise.
That improved performance arrived as home prices fell again. The MLS Home Price Index Composite benchmark dropped by 5.4% compared with the same time last year, TRREB said, with the average selling price – just over $1.05 million – slipping by 5.5%.
The figures suggest Toronto’s housing market is remaining resilient in the face of continuing concerns over the future of the national economy amid US president Donald Trump’s trade war.
TRREB president Elechia Barry-Sproule said a brightening affordability outlook appeared to be convincing some hopeful buyers to step off the sidelines.
“More relief is required, particularly where borrowing costs are concerned, but it’s clear that a growing number of households are finding affordable options for homeownership,” she said.
In the city’s beleaguered condo market, selling prices continued to dive. In the city-centre 416, average condo prices slid by 8.6%, coming in at $684,257 for July – and in the wider 905, prices were down by 10.3%, to $590,004.
That helped spur a sales uptick in both areas. Across the 905, there were 548 condo sales last month (up 10.7%), while the 416 saw a mild uptick of 3.4%, to 1,028.
While the Bank of Canada has kept interest rate cuts on ice in recent announcements, TRREB chief information officer Jason Mercer suggested further rate reductions would “spur home sales and see more spin-off expenditures, positively impacting the economy and job growth.”
Is Vancouver’s housing market on the verge of a rebound?
In Canada’s other priciest real estate market, Vancouver, home sales fell by 2% last month compared to the same time last year, but Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) said it believes the city is turning a corner on home sales.
Residential sales came in at 2,286 across the region in July – but Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics, believes there are promising signs for the housing outlook in Vancouver.
“Although the Bank of Canada held the policy rate steady in July, this decision could help bolster sales activity by providing more certainty surrounding borrowing costs at a time where economic uncertainty lingers due to ongoing trade negotiations with the USA,” he said in statement accompanying the GVR’s press release.
Sales prices also fell across Vancouver. The composite benchmark price inched 2.7% lower year over year, coming in at just over $1.165 million, as new listings rose slightly (by 0.8% compared with July 2024, to 5,642).
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