October home sales down 7%, new listings fell by 34% from last year: Toronto board

Prospective homebuyers in the Greater Toronto Area found dramatically fewer homes on the market last month than they did a year ago, pushing sales down and prices up.

TORONTO — Prospective homebuyers in the Greater Toronto Area found dramatically fewer homes on the market last month than they did a year ago, pushing sales down and prices up.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said Wednesday that 9,783 homes in the region changed hands last month, down nearly seven per cent from a record 10,503 in October 2020.

Despite the fall, the result was still the second highest level for the month of October even as the number of new listings fell by about a third compared with a year ago.

TRREB interpreted the numbers as a sign of tightening conditions in a market that is already among Canada’s most expensive and prone to some of the country’s most fierce bidding wars.

The board said every housing type was impacted by the heated conditions, which included fewer people putting their homes up for sale than last year, when a pandemic buying frenzy was on the horizon.

TRREB’s data showed new listings decreased to 11,740 in October, a more than 34 per cent drop from 17,806 during the same month last year.

Active listings for last month totalled 7,750 compared with 17,313 in October 2020.

Fewer homes on the market meant no relief for buyers, though many are still benefiting from lower interest rates that were introduced to quell the impacts of the pandemic on the economy.