Housing sales across the Greater Toronto Area climbed 11.3% in February from a year ago, helping to push the average sale price of detached homes in the city pass the $1 million mark for the first time.
The coldest February in the history of the city couldn't stop people from shopping for new digs. "Even with the record low temperatures last month, we still saw an increase in the number of people purchasing homes in the GTA. This speaks to the importance households place on home ownership and the fact that buyers continue to view ownership housing as a quality long-term investment in which they can live," said Paul Etherington, president of the board, in a release.
Detached homes help drive up the average price in Toronto with sales in that segment up 16.9% in February from a year earlier. Prices in that category climbed 8.9% from a year earlier to an average of $1.04 million. But even in the 905 district, sales were up 12.9% from a year earlier bringing the average detached home there to $694,285.
Semi-detached homes actually fell 1.5% from a year earlier in Toronto proper with the average price up 4.9% to $702,035. The townhouse segment in Toronto saw a 7% drop in prices from a year earlier to $507,843 while condo apartments prices were down 0.9% during the same period to $369,655.
"The strong year-over-year price growth we experienced in February points to the robust demand for ownership housing in the GTA, coupled with a constrained supply of homes for sale in some market segments, especially where low-rise home types like singles, semis and townhouses are concerned," said Jason Mercer, director of market analysis for TREB, in a release.