Home sales drop significantly in July
Posted August 5, 2010 5:28 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – Summer is normally a time when the real estate market slows down, but this summer has been unusually slow. Sales dropped 34 per cent in July compared to the same time in 2009.
The Toronto Real Estate Board reported that there were 6,564 sales last month, down from 9,967 in July last year. The TREB attributes the drop to two factors.
“When you look at the HST which took effect July 1, obviously there are some added costs on a resale home purchase,” Jason Mercer, the TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis told 680News.
“I think on balance, we’re also looking at the impact of expected interest rate hikes this year,” he added.
House prices in Toronto fell 3.3 per cent from June to July as buyers disappeared–despite record low mortgage rates. However, Mercer said the price decline was small.
“While sales drop off, we automatically assume the prices will do so as well, but it’s really that relationship between sales and listings.”
He explained that the greater number of buyers than sellers in the market exerts upward pressure on price.
Despite the dramatic drop in July, sales soared in the early months of the year.
Total sales through the first seven months of 2010 are up by 12 per cent compared to the same period in 2009.
