Sunlight reflects from the windows of condominiums in Toronto, Ontario, Canada December 20, 2019. REUTERS
TORONTO, April 7 (Reuters) – Greater Toronto Area home sales rose for the first time in six months in March in a sign that reduced prices have lured more homebuyers into the market, Toronto Regional Real Estate Board data showed on Tuesday.
Here are some details:
- Seasonally adjusted sales increased 1.4% last month from February to 4,546 units, marking the first increase since September.
- The board’s home price index was down 0.6% month-over-month, after seasonal adjustment, at C$928,000 ($666,954), which was the 10th straight month of declines.
- The Greater Toronto Area includes Toronto, Canada’s most populous city, and four surrounding regional municipalities.
- “It’s encouraging to see an uptick in March home sales compared to last month and last year,” the board’s president, Daniel Steinfeld, said in a statement.
- “This suggests that an increasing number of GTA households are looking to take advantage of improved affordability as we move into the spring market,” Steinfeld said.
- On a year-over-year basis, sales rose 1.7%, while new listings declined 16.7% and the price index was down 7.4%.
($1 = 1.3914 Canadian dollars)
Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto Editing by Matthew Lewis
