TORONTO, June 19, 2006 - The year's strong spring housing market remained active in the first half of June with 4,074 homes changing hands, Toronto Real Estate Board President John Meehan announced today. An average of nearly 300 homes per day sold through the first 15 days of the month.

"Market conditions have been very good all spring, and the strong activity we've seen is a reflection of that," Mr. Meehan said. "With just a few days remaining, this spring has so far been over two per cent more active than last spring."

Jason Mercer, Senior Market Analyst for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, noted that with strong economic fundamentals remaining in place, the Toronto Area housing market will remain quite healthy.

"Home sales will remain well above the long-term average this year," Mr. Mercer said.

The average price for a home in the Toronto Area at mid-month was $358,648, up four per cent from the end of June 2005. The median stood at $303,000, also up four per cent from the $292,000 seen a year ago. Average time on the market for each sale remained very low at 32 days.

Toronto's eastern waterfront continued to be very active during the first half of June. In The Beach, 30 per cent more homes changed hands overall compared to mid-June 2005, with detached homes the most active type. Immediately to the east in Scarborough's Cliffside / Birchmount Park area, a 55 per cent increase in activity took place to mid-month, compared with mid-June figures from last year.

Further west, strong sales of condominiums and semi-detached homes in the Junction / High Park area of Toronto pushed overall sales 40 per cent higher than the first half of last June.

"Good fundamentals and lots of consistency are the key factors in this market," TREB's President said. "It's a great time to make a switch to another home or get in the market for the first time."

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 designed exclusively for REALTORS®. Serving more than 23,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada's largest real estate board.

Published: June 20, 2006

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