Toronto's Real Estate Market Shows Remarkable Resilience During November's Sales Decline
Hey there, real estate aficionados! The Toronto real estate scene was as laid back as a sunbathing sloth this past November. With its lowest sales count since the 2008 economic slump, our northern neighbor is seeing the real estate equivalent of a Canadian winter freeze over.• The chills started with a report from Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd. revealing that only 4,236 homes changed hands in November - down 6% from the year before. It's like the market missed the memo about Toronto's population surge of over 20% in the last 15 years.• Suddenly, the ghost of the 2022 Bank of Canada's benchmark rate hike is haunting the 2023 real estate market. Spooky!• Despite the tumble in sales, property prices clung on tighter than a tick on a dog. The average selling price made a teeny-tiny climb of .3% to $1,082,179.• Blame the odd climate of strong prices amidst splatting sales on a low supply. November saw a mere 10,545 new listings – a touch higher than the 9,053 from last year but way less than what the market needs.• Affordability has become as elusive as a unicorn, with five-year fixed rates resting over 6% and qualifying stress tests soaring over 8%.• Ironic isn't it, that the lesser expensive condominiums in Toronto, which should have been the fairy-tale homes for first-time buyers, are instead watching their sales and prices slide 8.2% and 1.7% respectively.• As of now, the buyers’ market rules the roost with a 2.4 month inventory and 46% sales-to-list ratio.• To round it all up, the year is expected to close with a total of around 65,000 to 66,000 sales, a phenomenally low number not seen in over two decades.Now for my "hot take" on this icy scenario. While the Toronto market may feel like it hooked a booking on the Titanic, it's not all bad. Like winter, this too shall pass and with the current low inventory, pink flamingos of profitability might flock back when more inventory hits the scene and sales rally. Nevertheless, brace for the cold as it will be a while until the spring warmth of rate cuts melt this freeze. Until then, grab a cup of hot cocoa and stay tuned for more real estate shivery tales and survival strategies!
Source: Storeys
