The lure of a home in a nice neighborhood of Toronto remains one of most potent motivators in the real estate marketplace. As temperatures hung around 15 degrees below this February, home buyers were out grabbing up single family dwellings like there was no tomorrow. Sales for these units were up a stunning 16.9 percent year over year. It is a humbling realization for those who can hardly imagine how to buy one — and for those who are sitting in one which was purchased at an almost embarrassingly low price 15 or 20 years ago, not to mention, say, 1985 The average price of a single family dwelling in Toronto is now over $1 million. Unrelenting high demand along with limited listings continue to fuel bidding wars which show no sign of abating. “The strong year-over-year price growth we experienced in February points to the robust demand for ownership housing in the GTA, coupled with a constrained supply of homes for sale in some market segments, especially where low-rise home types like singles, semis and townhouses are concerned,” said Jason Mercer, the real estate board’s director of analysis in a statement. In all, 6,338 houses and condos sold in February, up from 5,696 a year ago, according to Toronto Real Estate Board figures.
