Toronto condo sells at $320,000 loss
A 37th-floor luxury condo in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district that sold for a $320,000 loss is an example of a condo market that hasn’t been this tough in decades, Realtors and observers say.
The three-bedroom unit, on King Street near the site of the Toronto International Film Festival and across from Roy Thompson Hall, faced an uphill battle to be sold this week at $1.23 million – and that was after several previous attempts failed, said the listing realtor, Rebecca Romeo.
“We’re in a buyer’s market all right,” Romeo said in an interview, pointing out that many other agents in the same building faced the same headwinds, as Realtors felt pressure to up their game to make any sale at all.
Her client, she said, was happy with the deal even though it was about 21 per cent less than the $1.55 million he paid for it in 2021, as it allowed him to finally move his equity elsewhere, she said.
“The client wanted to change that chapter of his life and move on. He was happy with the sale price,” she said.
The glut of condos for sale in the Greater Toronto Area has plenty of other owners unable to sell as a combination of factors allow buyers to be choosier, even though the longer-term impact could be bad for affordability, says a recent report on GTA Condo Investment called “Challenging Times,” by Urbanation and CIBC.
While the low-rise market appears to be “in reasonable shape,” the condo market “is clearly in recessionary territory with conditions deteriorating to levels not seen in decades,” wrote CIBC’s Benjamin Tal and Urbanation’s Shaun Hildebrand.
Prices are too high for buyers to jump in thanks to higher interest rates, but sellers don’t want to lower the prices because of high development costs and are choosing to offer incentives to compete instead, they write, saying that new condo sales are at their lowest level since the late 1990s.
“The math doesn’t make economic sense from both the demand side (investors) and the supply side (developers), leaving the market at a standstill,” they write.
A situation Realtors are seeing on the ground, said Ralph Fox of Fox Marin and Associates, though he cautioned that any single property could be held up as an example of the phenomenon.
“Properties are sitting on the market longer. Months of inventory are starting to build up on the condo side,” he said.
But he said while many owners of pre-sale condos are investors, plenty are not in a position where they are forced to sell.
“They’re holding on,” he said, adding that would be his advice to anyone considering a sale in this market. “If you have a hard-earned asset in Toronto, hold on, hold on, hold on. Rates are going to come down,” he said.
One factor in the glut is that the builders of newer condos were marketing to investors, rather than to the end user of the building
“We’re getting a lot of product at a bad time…some of the people are unfortunately taking losses in the next few months,” said Pouyan Safapour of Devron Developments.
But he said the slow market has also had a knock-on effect on the ability of new condo projects to get started, which means the number of builds is dropping. That means in a few years the number of units coming onto the market won’t keep up with population, he said.
“That’s going to be really bad for affordability. There’s going to be a sharp increase in prices for condos of all types,” he said.
Over in the low-rise market, there is lower supply and so buyers are still competing for properties, said Toronto realtor Teuta Guci.
She pointed to a Leslieville detached home that she listed for $1.728 million, and as three buyers bid for it, the final sale price was $2.12 million.
“The buyers, they are still holding and cautious, waiting for the cut to the interest rate. However they should jump now because while they are waiting, the prices will go up,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'We apologize to anyone we've offended': Bath and Body Works pulls candles over backlash
A major American retailer has stopped selling its new winter-themed candle over backlash from shoppers who said its design resembled Ku Klux Klan hoods.
Canadian drink company tastes controversy after Simu Liu raises cultural appropriation questions
Controversy bubbled for a Canadian drink company after its founders drew the ire of a Marvel superhero on an episode of a 'Shark Tank'-style reality series.
Canadian comedian, talk show host Mike Bullard dead at 67
Canadian stand-up comedian and former talk show host Mike Bullard has died.
China deploys record 125 warplanes in large scale military drill in warning to Taiwan
China employed a record 125 aircraft, as well as its Liaoning aircraft carrier and ships, in large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands Monday, simulating the sealing off of key ports in a move that underscores the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, officials said.
Scientists claim to solve centuries-old mystery of Christopher Columbus' origins
The 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday, after using DNA analysis to tackle a centuries-old mystery.
Woman killed by malfunctioning ottoman bed
A 39-year-old British woman was killed when a malfunctioning ottoman bed fell on her neck and asphyxiated her, a coroner’s report said.
Thousands of kilometres from home, Justin Trudeau learns of dissension in his caucus
The free trade agreement with ASEAN is expected to be signed at the end of 2025. If Trudeau is pressured to step down, or if his government falls and loses the next election, Trudeau will not, as prime minister, be there to see the fruits of his labour.
Warmer than normal temperatures lead to duller fall colours in Ontario
An especially warm fall in Ontario means the province may not get the colourful array of fall foliage that usually transforms treetops this time of year.
WATCH Indian authorities issue warning after leopard spotted sauntering past police station
Indian authorities are warning locals to be careful after a leopard was seen sauntering past a police station late last week.