At the end of the 2014 calendar year, Greater Toronto Area home sales, reported through the TorontoMLS system, registered a 6.7 per cent increase over the 2013 sales figure, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). In 2014, a total of 92,867 sales were recorded, with 4,446 of them taking place in December.

Home prices also grew, year-over-year, in 2014. The average selling price increased 8.4 per cent from 2013, to $566,726.

“TREB’s 2014 sales figures are a testament to the importance Greater Toronto Area households continue to place on home ownership,” says Paul Etherington, TREB President. “GTA households realize that home purchases have been a quality long-term investment. While home prices certainly increased substantially in 2014, the purchase of an average priced home remained affordable, in terms of the average household’s ability to comfortably cover their monthly mortgage payments.”

Etherington also noted that strong price growth throughout the region could likely attributed to a listings shortage, especially in the low-rise sector.