Home sales stay steady

TORONTO, March 19, 2007 -- The Toronto Area resale housing market maintained a solid pace through the first half of March, Toronto Real Estate Board President Dorothy Mason announced today.

The first half of the month yielded 3,714 transactions, nearly on par with the 3,755 sales recorded in the same timeframe last year.

“The year has begun very well,” Mrs. Mason said. “The market hasn't lost any steam despite a very strong start, and to date, the sales pace for this year is still three per cent ahead of last year's pace.”

In Mimico / New Toronto (W06), a large increase in condominium activity and brisk detached home sales contributed to an overall sales increase of 54 per cent compared to mid-March of 2006.

East of Toronto in Ajax (E14), an increase in sales of detached homes and townhomes helped push overall sales 32 per cent higher than mid-March a year ago.

Detached homes were the most popular housing type in Thornhill (N02), as the area saw 22 per cent more overall transactions compared with the same timeframe last year.

The average price of a home rose in March, increasing two per cent to $367,531 over the $360,294 recorded during the first half of March 2006. It is also up two per cent over the $358,533 recorded during the same timeframe in February. The average time-on-market for a home was 31 days to mid-month, and the list-to-sale price ratio was 98%.

“Consumers are reaping the benefits of a strong economy, favourable interest rates and a very solid housing market,” Mrs. Mason said. “Right now is an excellent opportunity to take the plunge into a different home or get started in the market for the first time.”

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.