With housing prices continuing to rise, new listings in Toronto surged over the opening two weeks of October, increasing 21 percent from the same period in 2010.

Greater Toronto Realtors released its mid-month statistics Tuesday, with new listings at 6,249 and transactions jumping 20 percent over the first two weeks of last October.

“The first two weeks of October seem to be pointing towards more balanced market conditions as we move toward 2012,” said Toronto Real Estate Board president Richard Silver. “Growth in new listings outstripped growth in sales, meaning more choice for buyers. A growing number of homeowners are reacting to the above average price growth reported this year and have decided to list their home for sale.”

The average residential resale price in Toronto was $465,369 in September, an 8.9 percent rise from $427,269 in the same month of 2010. However, the national average home price increased just 6.5 percent in September compared to 12 months ago, the smallest year-over-year gain since January, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Despite high prices, sales activity across Canada remained high in September, especially in Toronto, mostly due to extremely low mortgage rates.

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