By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Greater Toronto Area home sales rose for the first time in three months in October as lower selling prices offset the recent increase in borrowing costs to support affordability, Toronto Regional Real Estate Board data showed on Wednesday.
• Seasonally adjusted sales rose 1.2% last month from September to 5,274 units after two straight months of declines.
• The board's home price index was up 0.1% month-over-month, after seasonal adjustment, to C$928,800 ($663,523.36).
• The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) includes Canada's most populous city and four surrounding regional municipalities.
• “GTA homebuyers continued to benefit from substantial negotiating power on price over the past year," the board's chief information officer, Jason Mercer, said in a statement.
• "While borrowing costs have increased on the back of higher inflation, the impact on monthly mortgage payments has been mitigated by lower selling prices, helping keep affordability in check.”
• The Bank of Canada last week raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.50%, its first hike in three years, to prevent soaring energy costs from driving broader inflation.
• On a year-over-year basis, home sales fell 7.9%, while new listings declined 11.9% and the price index was down 4.3%.
($1 = 1.3998 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Nia Williams)
