Housing market stability continues

TORONTO, November 3, 2006--Toronto resale housing activity remained strong in October, as 6,876 homes changed hands during the month, Toronto Real Estate Board President Dorothy Mason announced today.

The market has shown strong overall numbers despite having normalized from record activity,” Mrs. Mason said. “Yeartodate figures show this year within one and a half per cent of 2005’s record pace, and October sales were four per cent higher than September’s, indicating a solid autumn market."

In The Beach neighbourhood of Toronto (E02), overall sales were 45 per cent higher than October 2005, led by a large increase in semidetached housing transactions.

A jump in condominium activity in Rexdale (W10) contributed to 23 per cent more overall transactions in October, compared with October of a year ago.

Outside the city, Richmond Hill North (N05) showed an overall increase of 32 per cent compared to last October, with detached homes the most common housing type.

Jason Mercer, CMHC’s Senior Market Analyst for the Greater Toronto Area, noted that the GTA’s stable housing market benefits from solid economic conditions overall.

“The annual rate of existing home sales remains near record levels,” Mr. Mercer said. “Home buyers remain confident in their ability to purchase and pay for a home, due to steady growth in jobs and relatively low borrowing costs.”

The average price of a home in the GTA in October was $356,423, two per cent higher than September and four per cent higher than October 2005.

“Prices and activity are very consistent,” TREB’s President said. “This indicates that the market is firmly anchored on a solid foundation. It’s a great time to take advantage of all the choice in the marketplace.”

Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict code of ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service designed exclusively for REALTORS®. Serving more than 24,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada's largest real estate board. Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now available on www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com.

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* Please note that TREB counts by business or sales days. In a 30 day month, there will usually be about 20 sales days, depending on when the weekends fall, holidays,
and so on.