Statistics Show That Vancouver and Toronto House Prices Still Soaring

The two hottest housing markets in Canada are seeing house prices increase into record territory in October, a time when real estate sales typically slow down.

Low mortgage rates are attracting buyers into the market, even though the prices of homes are excessively high, particularly for first-time home buyers.

In Toronto, the average price of a detached house increased by 12.5 per cent in the last year to reach $1.07 million in October. In Vancouver, the benchmark price for a detached house is 20.1 per cent higher than it was a year ago making the average price of a detached house $ 1.2 million.

Toronto condo units in October increased 4.2 per cent in price to $406,790, while the average townhouse rose 11.2 per cent in the last year to $579,350.

"Home sales are more than one-third above what's typical for this time of year, yet the supply of homes for sale is the lowest we've seen in five years," said Darcy McLeod, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

Toronto, with its abundant supply of condos, is seeing less supply pressure, but the number of active listings has dropped 7.5 per cent from last year.

Reference: CBC News

http://www.cbc.ca/…/bus…/housing-toronto-vancouver-1.3305986