Toronto-area home sales down 16% in June despite Bank of Canada’s rate cut: board

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in June declined 16.4 per cent from last year, with many potential buyers staying on the sidelines despite the highly anticipated Bank of Canada interest rate cut.

The board says 6,213 homes changed hands in the month compared with 7,429 in June of last year.

The average selling price in the Greater Toronto Area was down 1.6 per cent year-over-year to $1,162,167.

New listings rose 12.3 per cent over the same period, with 17,964 properties put on the market last month.

TRREB president Jennifer Pearce says the central bank’s 25-basis-point cut last month provided some “initial relief” for the housing market, but the June sales data suggests most homebuyers are waiting for multiple cuts before moving off the sidelines.

Ipsos polling for TRREB indicates that cumulative rate cuts of at least 100 basis points are required to boost home sales by a meaningful amount.