Toronto’s housing market continued to rebound in September, with prices hitting a 21-month high and sales seeing double-digit growth.
The benchmark price across all home types rose by 5.2% from the previous year to $805,500, the highest annual growth rate since December 2017. That’s about $10,000 short of the record set more than two years ago when skyrocketing prices prompted a series of government policy changes to cool the market.
Meanwhile, the average home price rose by 5.8% to $843,115, the highest this year. However, it’s well below the peak of almost $921,000 set in April 2017.
The decline in supply drove prices higher, with active listings down by 14% to 17,254.
Sales in the Greater Toronto Area soared by 22% to 7,825 units from the same period last year, the Toronto Real Estate Board said on Thursday. All home segments saw double-digit gains, led by a 29% increase for detached homes.
Sales were well below the record set in September 2016 of more than 9,800. On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales edged down by 0.3% from August.
Amid lower interest rates and a supply crunch, demand for homes in the city continues to grow thanks to strong immigration flows. Buyers have also adjusted to stricter mortgage-lending rules put in place to cool the market, according to Bloomberg.
