Real estate sales in Greater Toronto Area hit record high in February

TORONTO – Real estate sales in the Greater Toronto Area hit a record high last month, even after accounting for the extra day because of the leap year.

The Toronto Real Estate Board says there were 7,621 sales in February, up from 6,294 — a rise of 21.1 per cent.

About two-thirds of the sales were outside the city of Toronto itself, where there were 2,809 sales, an increase from 2,352 in the same month last year.

Average prices were also up, hitting $719,843 in Toronto itself and $665,100 in the rest of the GTA.

Toronto and other parts of the real estate market in southern Ontario were among the hottest in Canada last year, trailing only Vancouver and parts of B.C.’s Lower Mainland region.

Vancouver’s realtors announced Wednesday that sales in that city also set a record in February, with 4,172 homes sold — up 36 per cent from the same month last year.