Feb 8 (Reuters) - Home sales surged in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in January compared with the previous year, driven by single-family homes, with the tight market for low-rise housing boosting prices, data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) showed on Monday. Sales of existing homes jumped 52.4% to 6,928 in January, with the average selling price up 15.5% to C$967,885 ($759,245) compared with January 2020. That gain was driven by a 31.2% surge in the price of the average detached home. Condominium prices bucked the price gain trend, falling 4.7% from a year ago. The decline was entirely for Toronto condos, which fell 8%, with suburban prices up a modest 4.8%. "Looking ahead, a strengthening economy and renewed GTA population growth following widespread vaccinations will support the continued demand for both ownership and rental housing," Jason Mercer, TRREB"s chief market analyst, said in a statement. "Over the long run, the supply of listings will remain an issue, particularly in low-rise segments,” he added. JANUARY DECEMBER JANUARY 2020 YR/YR PCT CHANGE TOTAL SALES 6,928 7,180 4,546 +52.4% AVERAGE PRICE C$967,885 C$932,222 C$838,087 +15.5% NEW LISTINGS 9,430 5,865 7,848 +20.2% After preliminary seasonal adjustment JANUARY MTH/MTH PCT CHANGE SALES 11,506 +2.0% AVERAGE PRICE C$1,008,947 +3.5% Sales by type of property JANUARY YR/YR PCT CHANGE DETACHED 2,766 +34.4% SEMI-DETACHED 506 +48.0% TOWNHOUSE 1,124 +44.8% CONDO APARTMENT 2,471 +85.5 Average price by type of property JANUARY YR/YR PCT CHANGE DETACHED C$1,359,915 +31.2% SEMI-DETACHED C$996,794 +26.6% TOWNHOUSE C$803,578 +15.9% CONDO APARTMENT C$600,830 -4.7% ($1 = 1.2748 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Julie Gordon; Editing by Dan Grebler)