Toronto's Housing Market 2023: Challenges, Opportunities, and Comeback Predictions

So, buckle up folks, today we're riding the rollercoaster of Toronto's housing market 2023 review! 

• There was a bit of a trip-and-a-tumble, with a 12.1% decline in sales as the rates rose and affordability did a vanishing act. Greater Toronto Area, normally a hot-shot, ended the year in a cooler shade.

• New listings were also playing the disappearing game in 2023, even though the spring and summer had seen quite a bloom of homes 'coming to market' banners.

• However, as everyone's favourite superhero, Spiderman teaches us, "With great crisis, comes great opportunity"! ☝ Represented by some savvy buyers who cashed in on the less competitive market, making it their own bargain town.

• We saw home prices dipping 5.4%, but as the saying goes, what goes down must come up (or is it the other way around? ). The 905 region particularly might have had a bigger slice of price drops but let's see what 2024 brings!

• Enter stage right, our ray of hope for 2024: Jason Mercer and Jennifer Pearce from TRREB. They're predicting a comeback tour for the housing market.

• This new hope is also buoyed by the year-end stats where sales and selling prices saw an uptick in December. Raise your mugs to the "comeback kid"! 

• The hero of the day though? Record immigration. These new members of GTA brought in some much-needed demand, although largely for rentals.

• John DiMichele from TRREB underscored the importance of increasing housing stock because, let's face it, home is where the heart is, and sometimes, our immigrants' hearts need a little more room!

Here's my 'hot take': the 2023 housing market in the GTA took a bit of bruising with the one-two punch of higher borrowing costs and a drop in new listings. Despite that, it's not all doom and gloom! Buyers navigated the whirlwind like skilled pilots and managed to land some pretty sweet deals. As we look to the horizons of 2024, things are already heating up and it seems like the donkey’s tail might just swing back towards centre! So cheers to more variety, vivaciousness, and vitality in the housing scene for 2024. After all, Toronto isn't just about its legendary maple syrup but also the sweetness of its real estate market! 

Source: Storeys