Toronto’s real estate board says home sales and prices were down in October from a year earlier as economic uncertainty persists.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales totalled 6,138, down 9.5% from last year, which on a seasonally adjusted basis meant a 2.3% drop in sales from September.
The board says new listings totalled 16,069, up 2.7% from last year, while active listings of 27,808 were up 17.2%.
The rise in listings and drop in sales put pressure on prices as the benchmark index fell 5% from last year, while the average selling price of $1,054,372 was down 7.2% from last year.
Month-over-month, the average price was down 1.4% from September.
TRREB president Elechia Barry-Sproule says that both lower home prices and interest rates are helping buyers who are well-positioned.
“Buyers who are confident in their employment situation and ability to make their mortgage payments over the long term are benefiting from affordable housing market conditions relative to the past few years,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
“However, many intending homebuyers remain on the sidelines due to uncertainty about their economic future.”
The average price for a detached home was down 7.3% to $1,355,506. The average price for a condo was down 4.7% to $660,208.
TRREB chief information officer Jason Mercer said he expects the market to rebound once people are more confident about the economy.
“Once we have more certainty on the economic front, including trade with the U.S. and China, home sales should increase.”