TORONTO, January 18, 2007 -- The first half of January yielded 1,592 resale home transactions in the Toronto Area, a six per cent increase over the same time period a year ago, Toronto Real Estate Board President Dorothy Mason announced today.

"The strong activity we saw in December has carried through into the new year," Mrs. Mason said. "Though these are very preliminary results, it is definitely an encouraging sign for the market to be so active this time of year."

Toronto's Downtown East (C08) neighbourhood saw 32 per cent more homes change hands compared to mid-January of last year.

Outside of Toronto, the Meadowvale / Streetsville area of Mississauga saw 38 per cent more transactions compared to the first half of January 2006, while Richmond Hill South (N03) saw an increase of 37 percent over the same timeframe.

The average price of a home remained stable in the first half of January, dipping about one per cent to $340,793 from December, though up 10 per cent over the $310,547 recorded during the first half of January 2006. Active listings sit at 17,283, up slightly from 16,517 a year ago.

Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC's Ontario regional economist, expects price increases to remain healthy.

"Home listings continue to trend higher across the GTA early in 2007," Mr. Tsiakopoulos said. "This bodes well for consumer choice, and rising inventories will help moderate the growth in home prices during the year. Favourable economic conditions and a healthy balance between demand and supply will ensure that home prices continue edging higher."

TREB's President noted that all signs point to a healthy market in 2007.

"Activity, price increases and economic fundamentals are all very solid, and now is a great time to take advantage of lots of choice in the market."

Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict code of ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 24,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada's largest real estate board. Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now available on TorontoRealEstateBoard.com.

Published: January 19, 2007

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