Toronto’s housing market continued to tighten last month as prices edged up 4% from March and sales moved closer to the level they were at last April; the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) has revealed.

Sales for the month hit 7,531, down 5.2% from a year ago but up about 9% from March. Those sales outpaced new listings, which were down by over a third from a year before, fuelling more competition between buyers who were too hesitant to buy homes earlier this year.

Pushing these buyers to the side-lines were eight consecutive interest rate hikes, which took a bite out of their borrowing power, even as prices started to tumble. Their hesitance and those lower prices weighed on sellers too as many held off listing their homes because they won’t fetch the big sums or bidding wars their neighbours had in 2021 and early 2022.

However, real estate agents have started to see the market turn in recent months. “Many buyers have come to terms with higher borrowing costs and are taking advantage of lower selling prices compared to this time last year,” said TRREB president Paul Baron in a statement.