Home sales across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) rose 8.5% in September from a year earlier as lower interest rates sent buyers back into the market.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said that there were 4,996 homes sold in Canada’s biggest metropolitan area during September.
That was up 8.5% from 4,606 homes sold in the same month of 2023.
The average selling price of a home in the GTA was down 1% from a year earlier at $1.11 million. New listings in September totalled 18,089, up 10.5% from a year earlier.
Vancouver Sales Slump
Across the country, home sales in Vancouver, British Columbia declined 3.8% in September from the same month last year.
The Vancouver real estate board said that there were 1,852 residential homes sold last month. That was 26% below the 10-year sales average.
Unlike Toronto, recent interest rate cuts haven’t yet led to a rebound in home sales activity on Canada’s west coast.
There were 6,144 new listings in Vancouver during September, up 12.8% year over year, and bringing the total number of listings to 14,932.
The average price of a home sold in Vancouver in September was $1.18 million, which was down 1.8% from September 2023.
The Bank of Canada has lowered interest rates a total of three times since June of this year for a cumulative reduction of 75-basis points.
Interest rates charged on home mortgages remain historically high in Canada at nearly 5%.
