Toronto Real Estate Board reports:

Sales moderate in April but prices up

April statistics show that 8,762 houses sold in the Greater Toronto Area. “The market continues to experience a supply and demand situation and to-date it remains a sellers market,” said TREB President Maureen O’Neill. The GTA market was down 7 per cent from last April’s record 9,452 transactions. However, it is showing signs for a healthy 2008 compared to the diminished activity during the first quarter of 2008.

The sales pace however, did not take place evenly throughout the GTA. With 3,467 transactions in the City of Toronto, sales were down 10 per cent from a year ago. The 905 region was down five per cent from April 2007 sales, with 5,295 homes changing hands.

Prices continued to appreciate last month, to a GTA average of $398,687, up five per cent from last April’s $367,968. The average price in the City of Toronto was $446,781, up six per cent from April 2007. The 905 region’s average price of $367,196 increased five per cent from a year ago.

“For more than a decade, real estate has served as the economy’s engine,” said Ms. O’Neill. “It’s encouraging to see that consumers are continuing to put their faith in real estate as an excellent longterm investment.”

Breaking down the total, 3,398 sales were reported in TREB’s 28 West districts and averaged $372,575; 1,531 sales were reported in the 14 Central districts and averaged $539,133; 1,768 sales were reported in the 23 North districts and averaged $429,262; and 2,065 sales were reported in TREB’s 21 East districts and averaged $311,350.

NEIGHBOURHOOD CORNER

Markham

There have been 1,172 sales in Markham (N01, N10, N11) during the first four months of 2008, with an average price of $453,630. The price is up eight per cent from the $417,818 recorded during the same period in 2007.

See full Market Watch report »