Rent prices may have gone down a bit in Toronto since March due to COVID-19, but pandemic panic has done nothing to make home ownership more affordable.

In fact, the average cost of buying a house has risen steadily across the GTA in recent months, even as sales numbers fell off a cliff and new builds reached historic lows.

Canadian real estate giant Royale LePage pegs this phenomenon on "pent-up demand coupled with a lack of supply" throughout the second quarter of 2020.

In other words, "cooped up residents looking for larger homes surpassed the number of units on the market."

The Greater Toronto Area saw "significant price appreciation" for all home types across April, May and June of this year, according to Royale LePage's freshly-released House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast.

Year over year, home prices shot up a whopping 10 per cent across the GTA to reach a new aggregate of $899,001 last quarter.

In Toronto proper, the boost was even more pronounced: Home prices in the city have increased by 10.2 per cent over the past year and now sit at an average price of $949,774. 

Broken down by housing type, things get a lot more interesting.

In many real estate #markets, two-storey #house #prices outpace #condos as home-bound Canadians place a premium on space: https://t.co/olKz2Hd1vT pic.twitter.com/6Kf5Jx21Tt

— Royal LePage Canada (@Royal_LePage) July 9, 2020

The price of a standard two-storey home in Toronto rose 12.8 per cent over the past year to reach a new high of $1,417,445, outpacing the once hot-as-fire condo market in terms of growth.

City of Toronto condo prices went up over the same period of time by a strong but not as strong 8.2 per cent, with an aggregate price of $649,549 recorded in the second quarter of 2020.

"Home prices shot up in the second quarter as a crush of buyers entered the market, attracted by extremely low interest rates and the perception of bargains to-be-had," said Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper of Canada on the whole. 

"Across Ontario and Quebec in particular, the demand for housing outpaced the growth in supply, especially in the early weeks post-lockdown. The surge in the number of first-time buyers was felt acutely, as these housing consumers soaked up supply without contributing to it."

Looking forward, Royal LePage predicts that prices will continue to grow in the GTA, relative to the year previous, but actually decrease from the prices seen this past quarter.

The company's 2020 Market Survey Forecast estimates that the average home price across the Greater Toronto Area will be around $882,000 in the final quarter of 2020, up 4.0 per cent over the year previous.

"While buyer demand outstripping inventory has been typical of the Toronto market, the return of buyers before sellers in the second half of the quarter amplified price growth," said Royal LePage COO Kevin Somers on Thursday. 

"Sellers are now returning and while buyers should not expect bargains, they may find the second half of the year more reasonable for inventory and price appreciation."