The Toronto Real Estate Board says home sales in the Greater Toronto Area in September were up 22 per cent compared with a year ago as the cost of buying a house also pushed higher.

The board says there were 7,825 sales through its MLS System last month compared with 6,414 sales reported in September 2018.

On a month-over-month basis, sales in September were virtually the same as August.

The MLS home price index composite benchmark was up by 5.2 per cent on a year-over-year basis in September.

Meanwhile, the average selling price for all home types combined was $843,115, up 5.8 per cent compared with a year ago.

The number of new listings in September was down 1.9 per cent compared with a year ago at 15,611.