TORONTO, April 3 - It was a game of two halves for Toronto's housing market in March as the COVID-19 pandemic brought surging sales in the first two weeks to a grinding halt in the latter part of the month, data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board showed on Friday. Home sales in Toronto, which jumped 49% in the first half of March from a year earlier, fell 16% in the second half, while listings, which also climbed in the first half, pulled back in the second, the industry group said in an e-mailed report. "Uncertainty surrounding the outbreak’s impact on the broader economy and the onset of the necessary social distancing measures resulted in the decline in sales since March 15," TRREB President Michael Collins said. "Sales figures for April will give us a better sense as to the trajectory of the market." Even so, he said, "Late March numbers still suggest that there is activity in the marketplace." Home prices pulled back in the second half of March from earlier in the month, but remained 10.5% higher than a year earlier, TRREB said. MARCH MARCH MARCH MARCH YR/YR YR/YR 1-14, 15-31, 1-14, 15-31, (MARCH (MARCH 2020 2020 2019 2019 1-14) 15-31) TOTAL 4,643 3,369 3,124 4,008 +48.6% -15.9% SALES AVERAGE C$931,788 C$862,563 C$797,851 C$780,559 +16.8% +10.5% PRICE NEW 7,756 6,668 5,834 8,170 +32.9% -18.4% LISTINGS MARCH 2020 FEBRUARY MARCH 2019 YR/YR PCT CHANGE TOTAL SALES 8,012 7,256 7,132 +12.3% AVERAGE PRICE C$902,680 C$910,290 C$788,133 +14.5% NEW LISTINGS 14,424 10,613 14,004 +3.0% Sales by type of property MARCH 2020 YR/YR PCT CHANGE DETACHED 3,760 +17.4% SEMI-DETACHED 751 +13.8% TOWNHOUSE 1,388 +11.6% CONDO APARTMENT 2,014 +2.9% Average price by type of property MARCH 2020 YR/YR PCT CHANGE DETACHED C$1,107,870 12.5% SEMI-DETACHED C$889,480 12.3% TOWNHOUSE C$721,006 11.6% CONDO APARTMENT C$658,791 17.7% (Reporting by Nichola Saminather in Toronto; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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