Toronto home sales plummeted 40 percent in July

Way fewer homes changed hands last month since one year ago when the Toronto real estate market seemed to be on the up and up.

According to the Toronto Real Estate Board's latest report, home sales dropped 40.4 percent in July 2017 compared to July 2016. TREB notes that sales of detached houses fell the most - 47.4 percent, reports the Globe and Mail.

When looking at year-over-year changes, prices were up. The average price of a house (including detached, semi-detached, townhouses and condos) in the GTA was $746,218 last month, up five percent since July 2016. Month-to-month, however, prices declined since June.

“July sales had more to do w/ psychology. Would-be home buyers waiting to see mrkt conditions evolve"@TREBPresident https://t.co/BXgR3Xgw6n

— TREB (@TREBhome) August 3, 2017

"A recent release from the Ontario government confirmed TREB’s own research which found that foreign buyers represented a small proportion of overall home buying activity in the GTA," said TREB president Tim Syrianos in a news release.

"Clearly, the year-over-year decline we experienced in July had more to do with psychology, with would-be home buyers on the sidelines waiting to see how market conditions evolve."