The past week has been a bit of a roller coaster in Toronto's real estate market, with some segment prices showing declines, while others captured promising inclines, as was the case with sales.
The sales that did go through, which were roughly 20 to 25% of last year's volumes, were mostly for properties under $1 million, for both freehold and condos, which presented a great opportunity for first-time homebuyers who were often priced out of the market prior to COVID, according to real estate agent Doug Vukasovic,
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According to Vukasovic, when looking at both the condo and freehold markets on a weekly basis, Vukasovic says that in four out of the last five weeks, prices have come down.
Vukasovic says prices in the freehold segment dropped by -7% last week, reaching an average of $1.18 million, which was driven "exclusively" by detached homes, the segment that saw the biggest price change as it dropped -13% during this time. Semi-detached home prices climbed 13% while rowhomes remained flat in the same time period.
Similarly, the condo market also experienced price declines, with both condo apartments and townhomes down -5%, reaching an average of $633,000. To be more specific, condo apartments were down -8%, while townhomes were down -3%.
Via Doug Vukasovic
In regards to transactions, Vukasovic says sales were down -74% in the freehold segment, with just 98 sales as of May 3 compared to 391 in the same time last year. Sales were also down in the condo segment, with just 109 transactions as of May 3, down -76% from the same time in 2019, when there were 457 transactions.
Via Doug Vukasovic
Additionally, less than 15% of condo inventory was set up for bidding wars in the past week, a "big change from the 70% back in early March," says Vukasovic.
Via Doug Vukasovic
As physical distancing measures remain in place and home showings restricted, Vukasovic says sellers that do not need to sell are now waiting on the sidelines until the pandemic subsides. Subsequently, new listings are down -66% compared to this time last year. According to Vukasovic, on March 8 there were 1,273 new listings in Toronto compared to just 526 on May 3.
But when looking at Toronto’s housing market as a whole over the past month, Vukasovic says detached homes and condominiums have been impacted the most from current COVID market conditions. He says overall, the market is still up 2% over the last four weeks when compared to last year.
