Welcome Back and What We Are Experiencing in Toronto Real Estate

The numbers for August were released and, in many ways, were as expected. Nothing ‘earth shattering’ to report that hasn’t been disseminated and sliced and diced through the media and social channels already. The summer is slower, and we all already know that. And while there has been movement at a micro level, we are going to zoom out a bit for a wide-angle bird’s eye view of not just August but the activity for the year to date.

What we do find interesting is that if sales transactions continue as they have been for the rest of the year, 2023 will be the lowest number of sales transactions since 2001. The GTA is currently at 49,347 sales for 2023, 33% below our historical average. Back in 2001, the population was 4.7M (assuming Census Canada recorded accurately). And now the GTA is sitting at 6.3M (Census caveat), a 34% increase since 2001. Given our current population, very few transactions are actually occurring, relatively speaking.

We have 73,000+ Realtor’s currently registered with the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. In previous years, we know that approximately 10% of the agents conducted 90% of the transactions. We would assume that given how low the sales numbers are, a smaller percentage of Realtors are actually transacting and carrying the bulk of the business at the moment. Gone are the days of just listing a property and watching the Offers roll in, setting record selling prices. A perfect place to plug the increasing importance of hiring a trusted professional, especially in the current market conditions.

Zooming in on activity at a micro level, it’s a ‘mixed bag’ out there. Some properties in some pockets are receiving multiple offers and selling “above asking” also known as “at current market value.” And others are priced and sitting there, with price adjustments and more than 7 days on the market, looking to be a new norm.

Inventory overall is currently more balanced than it has been. We are sitting at the historical average for the number of properties offered on the market, which picked up around June and seems to be increasing monthly. Balance is a good thing, in our opinion. It is a sign of a healthy market. A significant determinant for what the rest of fall may look like will rest on whether or not we see another rate hike as the BOC continues to battle inflation.

We are standing by.

Any questions, feel free to reach out.

Cari and Paul