Nearly 300 condo listings have already been terminated in the GTA this month

Aug 4 2022, 9:01 pm

In the last four days, nearly 300 condo listings have been terminated across the Greater Toronto Area as buyers wait to see where the market is headed.

According to data from real estate agency Strata, a staggering 275 condo listings have already been terminated in the GTA in August.

Condos are now spending an average of 22 days on the market; during the February peak, the average was 10. In July, there was a 12% month-over-month decline in new inventory.

“We’ve entered a period of relative calm, following a storm of interest rate hikes, runaway inflation, and general uneasiness over the Canadian economy,” said Robert Van Rhijn, founder of Strata.ca and Broker of Record at Strata Realty.

“That storm swept across the GTA, dousing the flames on a once-hot real estate market. But now, the crickets are chirping as many of us hold perfectly still, waiting to see what may come next.”

Condo sales in the GTA were down 24% month-over-month in July, with just 1,700 transactions. The average cost of a condo is now $828 per square foot, or roughly $745,000. In downtown Toronto, though, prices were nearly on par with June figures, at $1,093 PSF.

Although condo prices are not falling as fast as home prices, they’ve “gradually declined” 13% since the February peak.

Buyers paid, on average, 0.8% below the asking price in July, even in the downtown core. In February they paid an average of 15% more.

For the first time since December 2020, the GTA has officially entered a buyer’s market — albeit by a small margin, Van Rhijn noted.

“A lot of buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach. While this may seem discouraging, it could eventually burst the floodgates,” he said.

“We saw this happen in 2010 when a crush of buyers suddenly stormed the market. This came after months of pent-up demand, caused by the 2008 financial crisis.”

In stark contrast to the condo resale market, the rental market has continued to heat up.

More than 5,700 lease transactions were recorded in July, with the average rent in the GTA topping $2,707. Tenants are now paying roughly $400 more per month than in July 2021.

“The rental market shows no signs of slowing down, especially with so many people wanting a unit for September,” Van Rhijn said.

“Renters are facing heavy competition not only from students but also buyers priced out of the resale market.”

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