TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 27, 2016) - Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 5,595 condominium apartment sales through TREB's MLS® System during the fourth quarter of 2015. This result was up by 12.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2014.

Over the same period of time, the number of new condominium apartment listings entered into TREB's MLS® System was also up, but by a substantially lower annual rate compared to sales, at 3.3 per cent. The result was tighter market conditions compared to a year earlier.

"The condominium apartment segment is integral to the overall housing market in the Greater Toronto Area. Over the past decade, the trend has been to increasingly build up due to provincial land use policies. As new projects have completed, a number of investor-held units have been listed for sale on TREB's MLS® System. These units have been absorbed quite rapidly, with enough demand relative to supply to prompt continued price growth," said Mr. McLean.

The average selling price for condominium apartments in the fourth quarter was up by 4.1 per cent year over year to $382,070. Throughout the fourth quarter, the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Apartment Benchmark Price was up by between four and six per cent on an annual basis.

"First-time buyers account for approximately half of all buyers in the GTA and even more so in the City of Toronto. Condominium apartments represent an important entry point into home ownership for a lot of households. This is a key reason why we experienced continued growth in sales for this home type over the past year," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.

Condominium Apartment Market Summary
Fourth Quarter 2015
	2015			2014
	Sales	Average Price		Sales	Price
Total TREB	5,595	$382,070		4,971	$367,184
Halton Region	157	$383,406		138	$395,550
Peel Region	807	$280,820		674	$270,094
City of Toronto	3,966	$407,991		3,562	$390,896
York Region	543	$367,396		488	$346,506
Durham Region	114	$277,343		98	$251,709
Other Areas	8	$208,000		11	$228,191
Source: Toronto Real Estate Board

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 43,000 TREB Residential and Commercial Members serve consumers in the Greater Toronto Area. TREB is Canada's largest real estate board.