Yahoo Finance Toronto Home Sales See First Gain Since January After Rate Cut
(Bloomberg) -- Toronto home sales rose for the first time in five months after the Bank of Canada eased borrowing costs from a multidecade high.
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The number of homes changing hands in Canada’s largest city rose 4.2% in June from May, the first monthly increase since January, according to seasonally adjusted data released Thursday by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.
While the number of listings jumped 9.3% over the same period, benchmark prices still eked out a 0.4% gain to reach C$1.09 million ($799,000), the data show.
The bump in sales came as the Bank of Canada delivered its first interest-rate cut in more than four years, a quarter-point reduction that brought the benchmark to 4.75%, while signaling more to come as economic growth slows. Home transactions had been hit particularly hard by borrowing costs at their highest in more than 20 years, with prospective buyers holding off in recent months even as more properties came up for sale.
Even with the boost last month, Toronto’s housing market remained quiet compared with past years. Sales in June were down 16.4% from the same month in 2023, according to the real estate board. New listings, meanwhile, rose 12.3% in the period.
That shifting balance between supply and demand sent the benchmark home price down 4.6% in June from a year earlier, the data show.
“The Bank of Canada’s rate cut last month provided some initial relief for homeowners and homebuyers,” Jennifer Pearce, the real estate board’s president, said in a statement accompanying the data release. “However, the June sales result suggests that most homebuyers will require multiple rate cuts before they move off the sidelines.”
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