Anyone with any skin in Toronto's real estate game has been holding out hope that the city's dormant market will pick back up with the arrival of lower interest rates, and after months of slow sales, it seems that buyer interest is ramping up for at least some housing types in some areas.

With an influx of condos sitting on the market and fewer people buying them than ever in the last 27 years, detached homes may be the one segment where there are still signs of life thanks to people with existing capital looking to upgrade while prices are slightly easier to negotiate.

New stats from RE/MAX outline the parts of the country where sales volumes and/or prices of houses are slowly on the rise, and while values are escalating most rapidly in the Vancouver area, certain GTA communities are not far behind.

"With first-time buyers locked out of the country's most expensive housing markets, move-up/down buyers and investors have been fuelling detached home-buying activity in the first six months of 2024 in the Greater Toronto Area," RE/MAX's release from Thursday explains.

Out of 83 regions analyzed across Canada, the firm found that a total of 30 per cent "reported an upswing in the number of detached housing sales in the first half of the year, while close to 40 per cent of markets reported an increase in values."

Around 34 per cent of downtown Toronto proper saw either stable sales or an uptick in sales, with detached homes in the city "leading the other regions in rebounding sales momentum."

The neighbourhoods where things are heating up the most are Dufferin Grove, Little Portugal, Trinity-Bellwoods, Palmerston-Little Italy, Niagara, University, Kensington-Chinatown, the Bay Street Corridor and Waterfront Communities, where 54.2 per cent more houses changed hands than during the first half of 2023.

Leaside, Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park saw a 36.4 per cent bump in sales numbers, while Rockcliffe-Smythe, Keelesdale-Eglinton West, Caledonia-Fairbank, Corso Italia-Davenport and Weston-Pellam Park saw activity rise 19.1 per cent from last year, during which, we must keep in mind, the city saw 26,000 fewer home sales than the 10-year average.

"Vibrant downtown/midtown communities remain a perennial favourite among purchasers in Toronto, who are vying for detached properties in coveted blue-chip neighbourhoods... as well as gentrified areas," RE/MAX's experts write.

"The ongoing evolution of Toronto's blue-chip neighbourhoods continues to prop up demand, as buyers at all price points are drawn to their attractive walkability scores, entertainment and amenities, including parks, restaurants, trendy shops and cafes."

As far as prices are concerned, RE/MAX says about 29 per cent of neighbourhoods in downtown T.O. have seen detached home costs climb so far this year, compared to 40 per cent in the 905.

The largest jumps were seen in Kingsway South, Princess-Rosethorn, Edenbridge Humber Valley, Islington-City Centre West, Etobicoke-West Mall, Markland Wood, and Eringate-Centennial-West Deane (+9.1 per cent to an average of $1,824,330); and Scugog in Durham Region (+9.3 per cent to an average $1,090,069).

"Many purchasers in today's market are first-time trade-up buyers, moving from semi-detached homes, townhomes or link dwellings to detached housing," the report says.

"This cohort has been fortunate in the sense that the entry-level price range has been relatively sheltered from downward pressure and has made the step up to a single-detached ownership less onerous than in past years. While affordability remains top of mind, first-time trade-up buyers were active in various pockets and price points."