Home sales in Toronto jump nearly 22% in September despite lack of new listings

Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area continued to grow throughout September despite a lack of new listings, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.

The board released its latest numbers on Wednesday, reporting 9,902 sales in the month of September — a 21.5 per cent increase compared to last year.

“We continued to see strong demand for ownership housing up against a short supply of listings,” said TREB president Larry Cerqa.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We continued to see strong demand for ownership housing up against a short supply of listings," said TREB president Larry Cerqa.

Rising alongside the number of sales are the selling prices for all major home types. The TREB reported the average selling price in the GTA rose by 20.4 per cent year-over-year last month, reaching $755,755.

READ MORE: Soaring house prices in Toronto, Vancouver are unsustainable, Bank of Canada warns

In Toronto alone, the average price of a detached home sold in September tipped the scales at nearly $1.3 million.

The latest report comes two days after the federal government announced new real estate rules, which are expected to put a damper on home sales across the country.

READ MORE: New real estate rules to dampen home sales beyond Toronto and Vancouver, banks say

Changes include the closure of a loophole that allowed foreign buyers to purchase property without living in Canada.

The government also plans to implement more rigorous testing for insured borrowers to ensure they can meet their mortgage payments in the face of rising interest rates or income losses.

TREB director of market analysis Jason Mercer said the board will be “closely monitoring” how these changes affect the housing market in the GTA.