TORONTO – The Toronto Area Real Estate Board says August home sales slowed from the breakneck pace seen earlier in the year, but market conditions tightened as supply fell by 43% and that prices have increased further.

The Ontario board of directors said Friday that 8,596 homes were sold in August, down 19.9% ​​from 10,738 in the same period last year and down 8% from to July 9,368.

New listings in the region fell to 10,609. This was down 43% from 18,599 last August and 15% from 12,551 in July.

“Most of my sellers and most of my buyers have just decided to go on vacation or have said we’ll take a break and resume in the fall, which is a classic real estate vibe in Toronto in August,” he said. said Jenny Simon, an agent for Re / Max Hallmark Richards Group Realty in Toronto.

The drop in supply has been so dramatic in part because sales broke tradition last year and were high last August, she said.

These conditions continued and the region rang in the new year, with homes changing hands at lightning speed as buyers rushed to take advantage of low interest rates.

As the year progressed the pace of sales slowed down, but the market remained overheated with bidding wars still the norm and fewer people putting their homes up for sale.

“Most of the homes I’m looking at right now have more than 10 offers and it’s in any price,” Simon said.

“There is still a huge demand for any type of home right now.”

Prices have also continued to rise – even in rural and suburban corners of the region – as remote working has become more common and many business closures during COVID-19 have helped people save money. money for houses.

The average price of a home in the area rose to $ 1,070,911 in August, from $ 951,219 in the same period last year and $ 1,062,256 the month before.

While the areas surrounding Toronto, known as 905, were once known to have slightly lower prices than the city, the TRREB said the average cost of a home there reached $ 1,108,981 in August. , up from $ 923,204 the previous year.

The average price of a home in Toronto was $ 1,000,008 in August, down from $ 1,012,817 the year before.

TRREB believes this trend will not end anytime soon and the market will remain in favor of sellers.

He predicted in February that by the end of 2021, the average selling price in the region will be $ 1.025 million, up from an average of $ 929,692 in 2020.

The Canadian Real Estate Association predicted in May that average home prices across the country would climb to $ 649,400 by the end of the year and hit $ 704,900 in 2023.

“There has been no relief on the supply side for home buyers, in fact the competition between these buyers has increased,” said Jason Mercer, chief market analyst for TRREB, in a statement. communicated.

“As we head into 2022, expect market conditions to tighten as population growth in the GTA begins to return to pre-COVID levels.”

Simon agrees. She predicts that buyers will continue to exceed supply, even as more homes are listed in the fall.

“There’s going to be more inventory, but I don’t think it’s going to be inundated,” she said.

“I think we will still be looking at several offers and I think it will continue.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 3, 2021.