TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 01/04/13 -- Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 3,690 sales through the TorontoMLS system in December 2012 - down from 4,585 sales in December 2011. Total sales for 2012 amounted to 85,731 - down from 89,096 transactions in 2011.

"The number of transactions in 2012 was quite strong from a historic perspective. We saw strong year-over-year growth in sales in the first half of the year, but this growth was more than offset by sales declines in the second half. Stricter mortgage lending guidelines resulted in some households postponing their purchase of a home. In the City of Toronto, the dip in sales was compounded by the additional Land Transfer Tax, which buyers must pay upfront," said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Ann Hannah.

The average selling price in December 2012 was up by 6.5 per cent year-over-year to $478,739. The average selling price for 2012 as a whole was up by almost seven per cent to $497,298.

"Robust annual rates of price growth were reported through most months of 2012. Price growth was strongest for low-rise homes, including singles, semis and townhouses. Despite a dip in sales, market conditions remained tight for these home types with substantial competition between buyers," said TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis Jason Mercer.

                Summary of TorontoMLS Sales and Average Price               
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                                        December 1 - 31                     
                                  2012                        2011          
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                               Average       New           Average       New
                       Sales     Price  Listings   Sales     Price  Listings
City of Toronto                                                             
 ("416")               1,470 $ 494,127     1,679   1,905 $ 473,169     2,015
Rest of GTA ("905")    2,220 $ 468,549     2,616   2,680 $ 432,789     2,759
GTA                    3,690 $ 478,739     4,295   4,585 $ 449,566     4,774
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               TorontoMLS Sales & Average Price By Home Type                
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                                     December 1 - 31, 2012                  
                              Sales                   Average Price         
                        416      905    Total       416       905     Total 
                   ---------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
Detached                491    1,254    1,745   722,393   565,544   609,678 
  Yr./Yr. % Change    -12.3%   -13.6%   -13.2%      2.4%      8.1%      6.2%
Semi-Detached           129      242      371   556,260   385,723   445,020 
  Yr./Yr. % Change    -35.2%   -15.4%   -23.5%      7.4%      5.6%      4.0%
Townhouse               154      423      577   392,590   347,897   359,825 
  Yr./Yr. % Change    -20.2%   -15.2%   -16.6%      5.2%      5.2%      5.1%
Condo Apartment         680      263      943   342,847   281,458   325,726 
  Yr./Yr. % Change    -26.9%   -26.3%   -26.7%     -1.8%      2.1%     -0.9%
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