The number of homes up for grabs in Canada’s largest housing market shrank again in October, prompting another warning from the regional real estate board that price growth could heat up. 

There were 15,375 active listings across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in October, marking an 18.8 per cent decline compared to a year earlier, according to data released by the Toronto Real Estate Board Tuesday morning.  

Meanwhile, sales rose 14 per cent year-over-year as 8,491 properties traded hands in the month.

The twin forces of shrinking supply and increased selling activity helped advance the average selling price by 5.5 per cent to $852,142. 

“As market conditions in the GTA have steadily tightened throughout 2019, we have seen an acceleration in the annual rate of price growth,” said TREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer in a release.

“While the current pace of price growth remains moderate, we will likely see stronger price growth moving forward if sales growth continues to outpace listings growth, leading to more competition between home buyers.”

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