TORONTO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Home sales and prices in the
Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are set to fall in 2023 as higher
borrowing costs weigh on the market but improvement is expected
in the second half of the year, the Toronto Regional Real Estate
Board (TRREB) forecast on Friday.
Home sales in the GTA are expected to decline to 70,000 this
year from 75,107 in 2022, which would be the lowest level since
2001, while the average selling price is forecast to fall 4% to
C$1.14 million ($854,125).
Still, home prices are expected to rise from an average of
C$1.04 million in January, the most recent month of data. Prices
in the once red-hot market have fallen about 22% from their peak
in February last year.
"It will be a year of two halves in 2023. The first half
will feel similar to the fall of 2022 due to the lingering
effects of higher borrowing costs and related economic
uncertainty," Jason Mercer, TRREB chief market analyst, said in
a statement.
"The second half of 2023 should be characterized by an
increase in demand for ownership housing, supported by lower
fixed mortgage rates, a relatively resilient labour market, and
record immigration."
The Bank of Canada has signaled a pause in its campaign to
raise interest rates after hiking at a record pace since March
to a 15-year high of 4.50%.
($1 = 1.3347 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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