Toronto home sales fall for second straight month
Toronto home sales and prices have declined for the second consecutive month due to rising mortgage rates and economic uncertainty. Experts point to trade disputes and global conflicts as factors dampening buyer confidence.
Why it matters
The cooling of the Toronto housing market reflects broader economic pressures affecting Canadian consumers and the national real estate sector.
Toronto home sales fell 5.2 per cent in September, declining for the second straight month as higher mortgage rates and economic uncertainty weighed on prospective buyers.
There were 5,174 sales last month after removing seasonal influences, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. Before August’s drop in purchases, there had been five months of increasing sales.
“We started to see sales ebb as we moved into fall,” Jason Mercer, the board’s chief information officer, said in an interview.
Mr. Mercer attributed the reversal to the worsening trade dispute with the U.S., the prolonged war in the Middle East and rising borrowing costs.
Although mortgage rates did not immediately increase when Canada walked away from trade talks with the U.S. in August, home loans are starting to become more expensive.
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