Toronto home prices jumped more than 20 percent in February for the sixth straight month as listings dried up, pushing the price of a suburban house beyond C$1 million ($750,000) for the first time, according to the city’s real estate board.
The average home in Canada’s biggest city, including condominiums, detached and townhouses, climbed 28 percent to C$875,983 last month from the prior year as active listings were cut in half to 5,400. Sales rose 5.7 percent to 8,014 deals.
Meanwhile in the suburbs, which cover the 905 area code, the average detached home price soared 35 percent to C$1.11 million from last February, the fastest growth of any housing type in the greater Toronto area. Detached home prices in the core of the city continued climbing, up 30 percent to C$1.57 million.
“Over the past year, we have reached a point where government policies that target only the demand side of the market, whether we’re talking about foreign buyers or further changes to mortgage lending guidelines, will not be enough to balance market conditions and moderate the pace of price growth," Jason Mercer, director of market analysis for the Toronto Real Estate Board, said in the statement released Friday.
Toronto home prices continued on their hot pace despite efforts to tamp down on the heat. Last year, the federal government implemented several housing regulations, including raising the stress testing of loans for even the safest borrowers, limiting mortgage insurance for banks, and closing a tax loophole for foreign purchasers. Experts have blamed foreign investors, a supply crunch, and outdated zoning regulations preventing increased density in some parts of the city.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.
