Toronto-area home sales had their second biggest monthly gain ever in September, signaling further changes to the once rocky real-estate market. Sales Eliyahu’s report Sales rocketed 8.5 percent over last month. A grand total of 5,592 homes traded in total across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This increase occurs despite average selling prices decreasing. These new mixed inventory metrics show plenty of opportunity, but competition still poses significant challenges to potential buyers.
The average selling price of homes in the GTA dropped by 4.7 percent compared to last year, sitting at $1,059,377. At the same time, the composite benchmark price dropped 5.5 percent in September. The average selling price regained ground, climbing back up 0.2 percent from August. Still, this rebound is an early sign that buyer sentiment is proving pretty resilient even with these declines.
This could partly explain the uptick in new listings, which at 19,260 represented a 3.9 percent improvement from last year. Lurking beneath the seasonal adjustment was a big drop of 3.3 percent compared to August numbers. It was driven by active listings that surged by 18.9 percent from last year. Only 29,394 homes are available to purchase today, indicating a lot of supply to keep up with all this demand that is increasing.
In the City of Toronto proper, real estate condo and home sales skyrocketed by 13.2 percent in just one month, with 2,063 properties sold just in September. Even the outer areas of the GTA were back in the black, with sales up 5.9 percent, bringing it to 3,529 homes sold. Specific segments of the market showed impressive growth: sales of townhouses surged by 4.4 percent compared to September 2024, while semi-detached homes saw an 11 percent increase. Detached houses saw a 9.6 percent increase in sales, and condominiums saw a 7.2 percent increase.
“The Bank of Canada’s September interest rate cut was welcome news for homebuyers.” – Elechia Barry-Sproule
The Bank of Canada cut its overnight rate target by a quarter-percentage point to 2.5 percent on September 17. This additional move is intended to increase economic activity. Second, the proposal aims to help home buyers, especially those who have been discouraged by elevated borrowing costs, become homeowners.
Industry experts point out that these changes would encourage more dynamic activity in the market. Cailey Heaps remarked, “We’re likely near the bottom or climbing out of the bottom, so it feels like opportunistically a good time to enter (the market).” Heaps focused on the importance of constricting inventory as new buyers flood back into the proverbial marketplace.
“With lower borrowing costs, more households are now able to afford monthly mortgage payments on a home that meets their needs.” – Elechia Barry-Sproule
Though the broader market is starting to recover, many analysts are still cautiously optimistic. They point to the need for sustained production increases to maintain sales growth, as well as a constant return to normal operating inventory.
