Greater Toronto home sales jump in October after Bank of Canada rate cuts: board

A west-end Toronto home for sale is shown in a July 15, 2023 file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.

The board says 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year.

Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.

Board president Jennifer Pearce says that while it is still early in the Bank of Canada's key interest rate cutting cycle, homebuyers appear motivated by lower borrowing costs which contributed to a "positive affordability picture" last month alongside relatively flat home prices.

New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.