Toronto saw a huge decline in home sales last month

The average price of a home in Toronto has declined for the fourth straight month in a row, according to August's real estate figures - and some experts say it's because of shy buyers.

Toronto Real Estate Board president Tim Syrianos announced in a press release today that home sales have tumbled 34.8 per cent year-over-year since August of 2016, with only 6,357 homes sold in the Greater Toronto Area.

The number of new home listings entered into the MLS system was also down by 6.7 per cent. At 11,523, this is the lowest number of new listings TREB has seen for August since 2010.

And while the average selling price across the GTA was actually up 3 per cent over last August at $732,292, it's more than 20 per cent below April's peak of $920,791.

This, according to BNN, means that Toronto homes are now in a "bear market."

The real estate board's market analysis director Jason Mercer says that "The relationship between sales and listings in the marketplace today suggests a balanced market."

"However, if some buyers move from the sidelines back into the marketplace, as TREB consumer research suggests may happen," he said, "an acceleration in price growth could result if listings remain at current levels."

The condo sector remains the hottest in the GTA with average sale prices up 21.4 per cent from a year ago to $507,841 in August. Condo sales were still off 28 per cent during the period.