The GTA market continues to heat up again in August. The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) has reported an amazing 8,035 sales this month by Greater Toronto Realtors. This is up 27% from August 2008 where there were only 6,318 sales that year.

The average price for a home has also edged up slightly during August to $387,921, which is higher than the same period recorded last year by 6%.

What this suggests is that there are home buyers choosing to make a long term investment in housing, and there are first time buyers who are moving up and are seeking a lifestyle change.

The year to date unit sales is at 58,421 which is up 2% compared to the first eight months of 2008, with the average price of a house at $385,987, rising by less than 1.5%.

We are witnessing a definite increase in demand for existing homes, which continues to place strong pressure on an already low listing inventory.

The amount of new listings in inventory has decreased 11% from the same period in 2008, where we saw 11,992 new listings compared to the 10,632 new listings we see today.

There are currently 15,682 active listings on the market (single-family listings) which is down sharply from the 25,076 active listings seen in the same period last year or 37%.

With the recent economic news being positive, the housing market has played a significant role in leading the charge. Home sales have helped drive other sectors in the economy as home buyers will have to spend on improvements, financial and legal services, and other necessities.

With August now behind us, we can hope to see the momentum that has been carried on from the last two months into this month. Hopefully it keeps up and the sales help further improve the Canadian economy as a whole.