The Greater Toronto Area’s housing market moderated last month, as the region’s real estate board discovered that July sales were down 47% from the same month a year ago and 24% from June.
The 4,912 transactions last month, which were roughly half of the 9,339 properties that were sold the July before, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, are a sign that the market is cooling off from the fast pace experienced in the first half of the year and towards the end of 2021.
After Canada’s key interest rate was raised by one percentage point in mid-July—the greatest increase the nation has experienced in 24 years—the board and real estate professionals have attributed a major portion of the moderation to the greater cost of carrying a mortgage.
People have been prompted to reconsider their housing aspirations due to the hike. While sellers debate whether to sell their homes for as much as they can now or wait for the market to change back in their favor, prospective buyers are hanging out for greater drops that brokers and agents believe could occur in the fall.