In the lead up to the COVID-pandemic, the Toronto real estate market was on pace to have a hot spring season.
In February, home sales were up 45% year-over-year, while prices were forecast to increase by 10% throughout 2020. But as the pandemic took hold and social distancing measures were implemented in the weeks to follow, activity slowed to a crawl, with home sales falling 69.7% year-over-year in April.
READ: Home Prices in Toronto Could Drop More Than 14% By 2023: Report
To get a better understanding of how COVID-19 impacted Toronto's housing market, particularly the condo apartment segment, Zoocasa used data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) to compare how median prices changed between February and April 2020 for 35 neighbourhoods.
For neighbourhoods with at least 10 condo apartment sales in April, Zoocasa says it calculated the dollar and percentage change in the median sold price to get a snapshot of how the market evolved one month after COVID-19 measures were introduced.
According to Zoocasa, for the City of Toronto as a whole, the median condo apartment price declined $65,000 (-10%) between February and April to reach $574,000.
There were two neighbourhoods that saw median prices drop more than $100,000, with Mount Pleasant East experiencing the largest decline, with prices falling $131,500 (-18%) to settle at $617,500. In the area that borders Regent Park, St. James Town, and Corktown, the median price fell -14% ($103,400) to $611,600.
But, of course, not all neighbourhoods saw condo prices decline. Milliken, Agincourt North was the one area that saw its median condo price rise, increasing by $34,500 (+7%) to $506,000. Here, condo apartment sales were down 49% compared to February, representing a less severe sales drop when compared to the City of Toronto’s overall sales decline of 64% for condo apartments.
What's more, the median prices fell between $50,000 and $100,000 in four neighbourhoods, while seven neighbourhoods saw prices decline between $1 and $50,000
You can see the full results in the infographic below.
Zoocasa
