The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) is reporting the third-best sales result on record for the month of August. While the market has taken its regular summer breather, it’s clear that the demand for ownership housing remains strong. At the same time, the supply of listings is down. The result has been tighter market conditions and prolonged competition between buyers, resulting in double-digit annual increases in selling prices.

Overall sales were down in August as buyers and sellers tried to enjoy the last few days of summer. The GTA reported 8,596 sales in August, down 19.9% compared to the August 2020 record of 10,738. The number of new listings for August came in at 10,609, a dramatic 43% decline from the high of 18,491 recorded last August. The drop in supply was so dramatic in part because sales broke with tradition last year.

Those conditions kept up and the real estate market rang in the new year with homes changing hands at an impressive speed as buyers raced to take advantage of low interest rates. As the year progressed, the pace of sales slowed, but the market has remained heated with bidding wars still the norm and fewer people putting their homes up for sale.

The average selling price for homes in the GTA was up by 12.6% year-over-year to $1,070,911. While areas surrounding Toronto, known as the 905, were once known to have slightly lower prices than the city, TRREB said the average cost of a home hit $1,108,981 in August, up from $923,204 the year before. The average price of a Toronto home was $1,000,008 in August, down from $1,012,817 year-over-year. The condo sector for the GTA also saw strong growth with the average selling price up 9.4% to $688,568 and for the City of Toronto sales were up 7.1% to an average of $720,832.

“The fact that new listings were at the lowest level for the past decade is alarming, says TRREB president Kevin Crigger, stressing that tighter market conditions are still keeping prices high. It’s clear that the supply of homes is not keeping pace with demand, and this situation will become worse once immigration into Canada resumes. With a federal election just days away, we are calling on all political parties to continue focusing on housing policies that address supply and affordability across the country.”