Toronto Houses by
The camera is a toy

This year's July sales were less frequent when compared to the previous year. While 7,570 sales were reported last month, there were 7,683 sales in July 2011. This represents a decline of 1.5 per cent. The decline was most pronounced in the condominium apartment segment in the City of Toronto. Otherwise total sales in the rest of Greater Toronto (GTA) were up.

Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Ann Hannah said that a lesser amount of sales this summer was due to very strong annual sales growth in the first half of 2012 and an earlier peak in sales this spring compared to 2011. "New mortgage lending guidelines and the additional upfront cost of the City of Toronto land transfer tax also prompted some households to put their buying decision on hold," said Hannah.

However, the average selling price in July 2012 was up by four per cent compared to July 2011. If you can do the math correctly, you'll find out that properties were sold for $476,947 on average in July 2012. The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI)* composite index, which allows for an apples-to-apples comparison of benchmark home prices from one year to the next, was up by 7.1 per cent year-over-year.

"The GTA housing market became better-supplied in recent months. Buyers benefitted from more choice in the market place, resulting in less upward pressure on the average home price in July," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis. Mercer also stated that the mix of homes sold in July 2012 versus July 2011 also appeared to have changed, further influencing the average selling price.