GTA home sales down 35%

Photo: The Canadian Press

Canada's largest real estate board says home sales in the Greater Toronto Area fell nearly 35 per cent year-over-year in February, as selling prices dropped more than 12 per cent.

The Toronto Real Estate Board reported 5,175 residential transactions through TREB’s MLS system last month, down 34.9 per cent compared to the record 7,955 sales reported in February 2017.

The number of new listings entered into TREB’s MLS system in February totalled 10,520, a 7.3 per cent increase compared to the 9,801 new listings entered during the same month last year.

However, the level of new listings remained below average for the month of February for the previous 10 years.

The overall average selling price for February sales was down 12.4 per cent year-over-year to $767,818, but still 12 per cent higher than the average reported for February 2016.

When TREB released its outlook for 2018, the forecast anticipated a slow start to the year compared to the historically high sales count reported in the winter and early spring of 2017.

TREB president Tim Syrianos says prospective buyers are still coming to terms with Ontario's Fair Housing Plan, as well as new mortgage stress test guidelines from the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.