About 656,300 properties will be sold via Canada’s MLS systems this year – an increase of 18.8 per cent over 2020 – while the national average home price is forecast to rise by 19.9 per cent to $680,000 year over year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

Greater Toronto Area (GTA) realtors reported 9,783 sales through Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s MLS system in October – down 6.9 per cent compared to the October 2020 record of 10,503. A strong double-digit increase in condominium apartment sales mitigated annual declines in low-rise home sales.

The number of new listings in the GTA was down by almost a third over the same period, with consistent declines across all major home types. The average selling price for all homes combined rose by 19.3 per cent year-over-year to $1.15 million

The low-rise market continued to drive price growth in October, but the annual price growth for condominium apartments was in the double digits as well.

So, what’s on the horizon? CREA expects “significantly fewer” MLS transactions in 2022 but still predicts the second-best year on record for Canadian home sales.

It expects national home sales will fall by 12.1 per cent to about 577,000 units next year. The urgency to buy a home to ride out the pandemic continues to fade but with supply at record lows, CREA expects the national average home price will rise by 5.6 per cent on an annual basis to about $718,000 in 2022.