TORONTO (Reuters) – Greater Toronto Area (GTA) home prices fell in July for the second straight month and home sales tumbled nearly 30% as the Bank of Canada continued to raise borrowing costs.
The average price of an area home fell 5.4% in July from June to C$1,118,374 ($837,796), while the number of sales declined 29.7%, Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data showed on Thursday.
“It does appear that the sales momentum that we experienced earlier in the spring has stalled somewhat since the Bank of Canada restarted its rate tightening cycle in June,” board President Paul Baron said in a statement.
The BoC raised its benchmark interest rate in June after a five month pause and then again last month to leave it at a 22-year high of 5%, aiming to slow the economy sufficiently to cool inflation.
Money markets see a roughly 75% chance that the central bank will tighten further this year.
On a year-over-year basis, the number of home sales rose 7.8% in July and the average home price was up 4.2%. Still, the average home price was down 16.2% from the February 2022 peak.
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New listings rose at a faster pace than sales, climbing 11.5% year-over-year.
($1 = 1.3349 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by David Gregorio)