GTA year-over-year housing sales down 22.2 per cent in May

The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) reports that May housing sales in the Greater Toronto Area were down 22.2 per compared to May of last year.

TREB says that while the number of sales was down year-over-year to 7,834 units, the annual rate of decline was less than reported in February, March and April, when sales were down by more than 30 per cent.

On a month-over-month basis, seasonally adjusted May sales were basically flat compared to April.

The average selling price for all home types combined was down by 6.6 per cent to $805,320.

But on a seasonally adjusted basis, the average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared to the previous month of April.

Jason Mercer, the board's director of market analysis, said market conditions are becoming tighter in the GTA and this will provide support for home prices through the second half of 2018 and into 2019.

"There are emerging indicators pointing toward increased competition between buyers, which generally leads to stronger price growth," Mercer said in a statement.

"In the City of Toronto, for example, average selling prices were at or above average listing prices for all major home types in May."

Observers believe last April may have been the peak of the Toronto-area market before the Ontario government brought in a package of measures to cool the market.