The Bank of Canada’s rate cut last month provided some initial relief for homeowners and home buyers. However, the June sales result suggests that most home buyers will require multiple rate cuts before they move off the sidelines.

GTA REALTORS® reported 6,213 home sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in June 2024 – a 16.4% decline compared to 7,429 sales reported in June 2023. New listings entered into the MLS® System were 17,964 – up by 12.3% year-over-year.

The average selling price of $1,162,167 was down by 1.6% over the June 2023 result of $1,181,002.

The GTA housing market is currently well-supplied. Recent home buyers have benefitted from substantial choice and therefore negotiating power on price. Moving forward, as sales pick up alongside lower borrowing costs, elevated inventory levels will help mitigate against a quick runup in selling prices

The Bank of Canada began its rate-lowering process with a June 5th cut that brought its key interest rate down to 4.75 per cent from five per cent.

Ipsos polling for TRREB indicates that cumulative rate cuts of at least 100 basis points, or a full percentage point, would be required to boost home sales by a meaningful amount.

The next Bank of Canada interest rate announcement is scheduled for Wednesday, July 24.