GTA Housing Resales at 2,044 in Mid February

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 2,044 sales through the
first 14 days of February, compared to 2,775 sales reported during the same period in 2008.

“While sales have been lower, the housing sector remains one of the pillars of the GTAeconomy,” said TREB President Maureen O’Neill. “Each existing home transaction generates,on average, more than $33,000 in spin-off spending on renovations and other housing-relateditems. This spin-off spending translates into jobs.”

“The City of Toronto needs to do its part to encourage homeownership by reducing the taxburden on existing and potential home owners,” said TREB President Maureen O’Neill. “To thisend, Greater Toronto REALTORS® are calling on the City to roll back the municipal landtransfer tax. We presented our views to the City’s Budget Committee yesterday.”

The average home price in the GTA was $364,748 compared to $385,735 in mid-month
February last year.

“It is interesting to note that while the average price was down, the annual rate of price declineslowed compared to the previous four months,” according to Jason Mercer, the Toronto RealEstate Board’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “If this trend continues into the spring, itcould point towards average home prices leveling off between $360,000 and $370,000.”


Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and share astate-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 28,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the TorontoReal Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board. Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now
available on www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com.


Source: Toronto Real Estate Board