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Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

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The euphoria that pushed Canada's largest housing market into uncharted territory just a few months ago has rapidly faded as price growth stalled and sales slumped in Toronto last month.
 
There were 9,390 property sales across the Greater Toronto Area in July, according to data released Thursday by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). That represents a 40 per cent plunge from the record 15,652 sales in March. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, TRREB said the number of sales slipped two per cent month-over-month in July.
 
The average selling price across the GTA was relatively flat from a month prior at $1,062,256 in July; however, that marked a 12.6 per cent increase compared to a year earlier. The average price hit a record high of $1,108,453 in May.
 
"The annual rate of price growth has moderated since the early spring, but has remained in the double digits. This means that many households are still competing very hard to reach a deal on a home. This strong upward pressure on home prices will be sustained in the absence of more supply, especially as we see a resurgence in population growth moving into 2022," said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer in a release.
 
While sales activity fell sequentially in all four major property categories tracked by TRREB, prices found some support as inventory tightened up. Indeed, there were 9,732 active listings at the end of July, compared to 11,297 in June.