June home sales in GTA up from last year but lack of supply led to tighter market conditions: TRREB

The number of homes sold in the Greater Toronto Area last month was up from a year ago but was down from last May as buyers continue to face a lack of inventory.

Figures released by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board on Thursday show realtors reported 7,481 sales in the month of June compared to 6,422 the same time last year and 9,012 the previous month.

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"The demand for ownership housing is stronger than last year, despite higher borrowing costs. With this said, home sales were hampered last month by uncertainty surrounding the Bank of Canada's outlook on inflation and interest rates," TRREB President Paul Baron said in a statement.

"Furthermore, a persistent lack of inventory likely sidelined some willing buyers because they couldn't find a home meeting their needs. Simply put, you can't buy what is not available."

Most of the properties sold last month were detached homes (3,377), followed by condo apartments (2,122), townhouses (1,233) and semi-detached houses (678).

While sales saw a 16.5 per cent year-over-year increase, the number of new properties that were listed last month was down by three per cent compared to the previous year, according to the TRREB.

There were 15,865 new listings this past June, a dip from 16,353 recorded in June 2022.

As a result, the board said market conditions were tighter last month compared to the same time period a year ago.

Meanwhile, the average selling price this past June was $1,182,120 – up 3.2 per cent from June 2022's $1,145,796. However, that figure is lower than in May, when the average selling price hit $1,196,101.

A detached home sold for an average of $1,530,997 in June.

"A resilient economy, tight labour market and record population growth kept home sales well above last year's lows," TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer said.

"Looking forward, the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision this month and its guidance on inflation and borrowing costs for the remainder of 2023 will help us understand how much sales and price will recover beyond current levels."