The dog days of August are upon us and if you like it hot and sunny then this is a great summer, unless you’ve lost out on multiple offers and are frustrated with the low inventory of properties for sale. The good news is sales in the GTA for the month of July jumped 24% from the same period last year. Toronto sales have been rebounding all summer from a slump earlier this year as buyers are overcoming tougher mortgage qualification rules and returning to the market. With new listings slow to come to market, prices rose in July as demand outpaced supply. The average selling price for a home in Toronto in July was $839,943. The average condominium price was $627,927 up 7.7% from a year ago.

Listings may be slim right now but it’s a good time for buyers to take advantage of the slow summer with less competition, as there are deals to be found. Some buyers are watching as rivals flow out of town for their summer vacations and can take advantage of their absence to snag a good deal. Properties listed in desirable locations will always attract plenty of buyers no matter what time of the year.

The freehold sector reversed an earlier trend of increased listings by recording a slight 18% drop in available homes last week while also recording a 16% drop in sales. However, competition for those homes was up, with almost 55% of home transactions selling at or above the asking price. The condo market also saw a sharp 33% decrease in new listings from the previous week, but the sales remained unchanged with over 47% of suites selling at or above the list price.