TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/05/13 -- Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 4,375 transactions through the TorontoMLS system in January 2013. This number represented a slight decline compared to 4,432 transactions reported in January 2012.

"The January sales figures represent a good start to 2013. While the number of transactions was down slightly compared to last year, the rate of decline was much less than what was experienced in the second half of 2012. This suggests that some buyers, who put their decision to purchase on hold last year due to stricter mortgage lending guidelines, are once again becoming active in the market," said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Ann Hannah.

"It is interesting to note that sales were up for many home types in the GTA regions surrounding the City of Toronto. This is due, at least in part, to the additional upfront land transfer tax in the City of Toronto," added Ms. Hannah.

The average selling price for January 2013 sales was $482,648 - up by 4.3 per cent compared to $462,655 in January 2012. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark price was up by 3.8 per cent over the same period.

"There will be enough competition between buyers in the marketplace to prompt continued growth in home prices in 2013. Expect annual average price growth in the three to five per cent range this year," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They are governed by a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Over 36,000 TREB Members serve consumers in the Greater Toronto Area. The Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada's largest real estate board.

                                                                            
Summary of TorontoMLS Sales and Average Price January 1-31, 2013            
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    2013                          2012                      
                  ----------------------------------------------------------
                            Average       New             Average       New 
                   Sales      Price  Listings    Sales      Price  Listings 
City of Toronto                                                             
("416")            1,559  $ 507,859     4,207    1,667  $ 498,534     4,015 
Rest of GTA                                                                 
("905")            2,816  $ 468,691     6,417    2,765  $ 441,024     5,583 
GTA                4,375  $ 482,648    10,624    4,432  $ 462,655     9,598 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
TorontoMLS Sales & Average Price By Home Type January 1-31, 2013            
                                                                            
                   Sales                         Average Price              
                     416        905     Total      416        905     Total 
                  ----------------------------------------------------------
Detached             502      1,579     2,081  765,049    563,675   612,252 
Yr./Yr. % Change    -7.6%       3.7%      0.7%     2.7%       6.8%      4.7%
Semi-Detached        147        324       471  586,080    391,830   452,456 
Yr./Yr. % Change    -5.2%       0.9%     -1.1%    12.5%       3.6%      6.5%
Townhouse            166        519       685  418,262    359,271   373,566 
Yr./Yr. % Change   -11.2%       1.0%     -2.3%     1.8%       5.6%      4.0%
Condo Apartment      730        321     1,051  340,295    269,073   318,542 
Yr./Yr. % Change    -4.5%      -6.4%     -5.1%    -1.3%      -1.4%     -1.2%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Get the latest real estate news and Market Watch information including market watch summary video.