Condo Sales Explode in the Toronto Real Estate Market

It’s no secret that the Toronto real estate market is wild and seemingly untamed. A big draw for living in the downtown of Canada’s most populated city, is access to some of the best healthcare, education and career opportunities, and world-class cultural experiences. While at one point, some believed that the global pandemic would bring drought to this local housing market, Toronto real estate has been scorching hot month after month since early 2020. Even though there was a fluctuation in condo sales in the early days of the pandemic, it seems as though the market is becoming more and more active as restrictions lift – specifically when it comes to condo sales.

Toronto and Surrounding Areas Seeing Spike in Condo Sales

Condominium apartment sales across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) experienced a major increase when comparing the second quarter of 2021 to the same period in 2020. Across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), 8,793 condominium apartments were sold between April and June 2021; while down a slight 6% compared to the first quarter of 2021, this figure is an astonishing 155% higher than the second quarter of 2020, when we really began to feel the effects of COVID.

While the second half of 2020 saw a dip in buyer interest for condominium and apartment dwellings in the city, easing restrictions and increased job availability, among other factors, have contributed to the spike in action from prospective buyers. Kevin Crigger, Toronto Regional Real Estate Board President, states: “There is no doubt that the condominium apartment segment has improved markedly over the past six months, after lagging the low-rise market segments in the second half of 2020. Consumer polling conducted by Ipsos for TRREB suggested that about 40 per cent of buyers in 2021 would be first-time buyers. For many first-time buyers, their entry point into home ownership is the condo market so we expect further upward movement this year with accelerated migration back to cities and heightened immigration.”

Lifestyle changes due to the global pandemic affected the Toronto real estate market differently than it did in many other areas across Canada. Many urban residents were looking to leave the hustle and bustle of the big city in favour of smaller, more rural towns, since remote working scenarios had quickly become the norm. While most other market segments in Toronto rebounded quickly, the condo market took a little longer. This may be in part to the shifting consumer preferences, with homebuyers choosing homes with more square-footage over studio apartments in the heart of the action. But now that the Toronto condo market recovery is well underway, the growth trajectory is astonishing, to say the least.

Over the last few months, with the resurgence of the condo market in the Toronto area, the average price of a unit in the GTA hit $728,160 over the second quarter of 2021. However, if we look at Toronto proper, this value is much steeper. In fact, demand was so high during the second quarter of the year, that the average condo unit was being priced at a jaw-dropping $834,504.

Partly driving up the price of these units is the limited amount of available inventory. Come the end of June, only 10% of the available inventory was not sold – a shocking feat considering that 109,203 new units were being constructed during that period.

Toronto Condo Market Anticipated to Continue Burning Hot

With border restrictions easing around international travel, post-secondary students pivoting back to in-person learning, and many companies requiring workers to be in the office at least a few days a week, the condo market in Toronto and surrounding areas will continue to gain momentum as through the final quarter of 2021. For those who are hoping to purchase a Toronto condo in the near future, now is the time to get in on the market as interest rates remain low, and prices are continuing to soar by the week.

Sources:

• TRREB
• Blog TO