TORONTO (Reuters) – Home prices in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) tracked the seasonal trend by rising in February from January but were down sharply on an annual basis as borrowing costs climbed, Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data showed on Friday.
The average price of a GTA home rose to C$1.10 million ($809,121) in February, up 5.5% from January. It was down 17.9% from the peak of the market in the same month last year.
Sales tumbled 47% from a year ago, while new listings were down 40.9%.
“It has been almost a year since the Bank of Canada started raising interest rates. Home prices have dropped over the last year from the record peak in February 2022, mitigating the impact of higher borrowing costs,” TRREB President Paul Baron said in a statement.
The Bank of Canada has increased its benchmark interest rate by 425 basis points since March 2022 to a 15-year high of 4.50%. It is expected to hold steady at a policy decision next Wednesday after signaling a pause in January.
($1 = 1.3595 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
