TREB Reports Improved Resale Housing Figures for Second Quarter

According to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), Greater Toronto Area (GTA) home sales declined by less than one per cent compared to June of 2012. New listings rates were also down, signaling a possible tightening in the market.

TREB President, Dianne Usher, commented in a press release about the second quarter sales numbers for the GTA: "The sales picture in the GTA improved markedly in the second quarter of 2013. While the number of transactions was still down compared to 2012, rates of decline were substantially improved compared to the first quarter."

Usher continued, explaining why the second half of 2013 is expected to experience an increase in the number of sales: "As a growing number of homebuyers, many of whom put their purchase on hold due to stricter lending guidelines, now reactivate their search, the expectation is for renewed growth in home sales in the second half of 2013."

The average selling price in the GTA for the month of June was $531,374, an increase by 4.7 per cent from 2012. Last month’s price increase was mainly due to the strong sales of single-detached homes and semi-detached homes primarily in the City of Toronto. Condominium prices remained relatively unchanged from the previous year.

In the release, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis, Jason Mercer, explained why the average resale prices climbed a bit: "The short supply of low-rise home types in many parts of the GTA relative to the number of households looking to buy continued to prompt strong upward pressure on selling prices of singles and semis. We have also seen enough buyers in the better-supplied condo apartment market to provide support for selling prices at current levels."

So, in the resale world, home sales are staying steady, prices are still gradually rising, and TREB is projecting that the second half of 2013 will be more successful than the first. Gotta love a stable housing market.

To view the full report, click here.