For the fourth month in a row, GTA sales were up year over year. With 10,563 sales reported on TRREB MLS in October, this was an increase of 25.1% compared to 8,445 transactions in October 2019.

As sales and new listings reached record levels, year over year growth rates diverged in some market segments. The pace of annual sales growth for detached homes far outpaced growth in new listings. Whereas condos experienced more than double the new listings compared to October 2019 and sales were only up by 2.2% over the same period in the GTA.

Buyer competition for single-family homes, particularly detached homes, remained strong and pushed double-digit annual rates of growth in many neighbourhoods. On the flipside, condo buyers benefitted from more choice compared to last year.

Detached homes sales activity increased by 19.6% with 1,228 sales and the average price increased by 11.2% to $1,470,857. Sales activity for semi-detached homes increased by a staggering 29.6% with 416 sales, with average prices edging up by 4.8% to $1,154,087 year over year. Townhomes saw 409 sales with activity increasing by 20.3% and average prices increasing by 4.1% to $828,090.

Condo sales fell by -8.5% compared to October of last year, but prices remained stable and increased nominally by 0.8%.

The MLS Home Price Index Composite Benchmark increased by 10.8% year over year in October 2020, with the combined average selling price for all home types at $968,318 – up by 13.7% compared to October 2019.

Low borrowing costs and economic recovery in some sectors have continued to keep home purchasing a priority for many people. Pent-up demand from the spring market continues to fuel home sales and the trend of record or near-record home sales will likely continue through the remainder of this year.