TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 01/04/13 -- Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 3,690 sales through the TorontoMLS system in December 2012 - down from 4,585 sales in December 2011. Total sales for 2012 amounted to 85,731 - down from 89,096 transactions in 2011.
"The number of transactions in 2012 was quite strong from a historic perspective. We saw strong year-over-year growth in sales in the first half of the year, but this growth was more than offset by sales declines in the second half. Stricter mortgage lending guidelines resulted in some households postponing their purchase of a home. In the City of Toronto, the dip in sales was compounded by the additional Land Transfer Tax, which buyers must pay upfront," said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Ann Hannah.
The average selling price in December 2012 was up by 6.5 per cent year-over-year to $478,739. The average selling price for 2012 as a whole was up by almost seven per cent to $497,298.
"Robust annual rates of price growth were reported through most months of 2012. Price growth was strongest for low-rise homes, including singles, semis and townhouses. Despite a dip in sales, market conditions remained tight for these home types with substantial competition between buyers," said TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis Jason Mercer.
Summary of TorontoMLS Sales and Average Price-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 1 - 31 2012 2011 -------------------------------------------------------- Average New Average New Sales Price Listings Sales Price ListingsCity of Toronto ("416") 1,470 $ 494,127 1,679 1,905 $ 473,169 2,015Rest of GTA ("905") 2,220 $ 468,549 2,616 2,680 $ 432,789 2,759GTA 3,690 $ 478,739 4,295 4,585 $ 449,566 4,774---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TorontoMLS Sales & Average Price By Home Type-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 1 - 31, 2012 Sales Average Price 416 905 Total 416 905 Total ---------------------------------------------------------Detached 491 1,254 1,745 722,393 565,544 609,678 Yr./Yr. % Change -12.3% -13.6% -13.2% 2.4% 8.1% 6.2%Semi-Detached 129 242 371 556,260 385,723 445,020 Yr./Yr. % Change -35.2% -15.4% -23.5% 7.4% 5.6% 4.0%Townhouse 154 423 577 392,590 347,897 359,825 Yr./Yr. % Change -20.2% -15.2% -16.6% 5.2% 5.2% 5.1%Condo Apartment 680 263 943 342,847 281,458 325,726 Yr./Yr. % Change -26.9% -26.3% -26.7% -1.8% 2.1% -0.9%----------------------------------------------------------------------------Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They are governed by a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Over 35,000 TREB Members serve consumers in the Greater Toronto Area. The Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada's largest real estate board.
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