Housing prices in Toronto continued their summer slump in August as government regulations and fears about a market softening curbed demand in Canada’s biggest city.
The average price for all housing types declined 1.9% last month from July to C$732,292 ($591,225), according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. That’s down 20% from the March peak, when the average cost of buying a home in the Toronto region climbed close to C$1 million.
Still, the downturn appears to be ebbing, with average monthly price declines ranging from 6% to 8% in the previous three months.
“The relationship between sales and listings in the marketplace today suggests a balanced market,” said Jason Mercer, the board’s director of market analysis. He added that if current conditions are sustained, there would likely be a return to price growth above inflation on a year-over-year basis, according to a statement Wednesday.
Sales in August dropped 35% from last year to 6,357 deals, while new listings fell to the lowest level for the month in seven years.
Compared with August 2016, the average home price rose 3%, while the so-called benchmark price, which measures a typical home in the area, jumped 14%.
