In the first 14 days of August, the average price of a detached home fell to $597,963, down 17% from the average price of $720,808 in the first two weeks of July. On a year-over-year basis, the news was slightly better, but the average price was still down 7% compared to the first 14 days of August 2010, when the average price was $635,107.

The average apartment-condo price, however, was up both on a month-to-month and a year-over-year basis. In the first two weeks of August, the average price of $355,513 for an apartment-condo in the city rose slightly above mid-July’s numbers, but jumped 12% over the average price recorded in the first 14 days of August 2010.

Apartment-condo sales softened somewhat in mid-August from mid-July, but remained 23% above numbers for the same period last year.

Rokham Fard, chief marketing officer and co-founder of TheRedPin.com, a listings website for new condos in the Greater Toronto Area, said the strength in the condo market compared to the detached home market is largely a result of consumer demand for affordable housing in the city’s downtown core.  

“Even though the prices have gone up in the past few months, the demand keeps going up and we keep reaching historic highs in condo prices,” he told CRE Online. “So I take this as a sign that people are still demanding a condo lifestyle. And a lot of people want to live in downtown Toronto, but detached homes are extremely expensive, so the alternative would be condos.”