It was once common to only hear of bidding wars happening in traditional housing markets, however, in the lead up to this fall’s anticipated return to offices and post-secondary campuses, bidding wars for rental properties have become the norm in Vancouver and Toronto, two of Canada’s most competitive markets.
Anyone following the latest headlines about Toronto’s housing market, has by now heard that Toronto’s housing market is showing signs of cooling. But these types of headlines can leave many buyers confused about what “cooling” really means. Active buyers who are still seeing 8+ offers on the homes they are bidding on are certainly not feeling any ‘cooling’. Buyers considering entering the market are wondering if a cooling market means prices will fall in the near future, like right after they’ve bought.
The average Toronto condo price keeps on climbing, surpassing $720,000 in the second quarter of this year. A new report from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board found that although condo sales dropped slightly this quarter compared to the last, prices continued to trend upwards, pushing the average Toronto condo price to $721,109. This is a significant increase from the first quarter of this year, which averaged $675,844, and is much higher than the current GTA average of $686,312.
After bottoming out in January, Toronto rent prices are well on their way back to pre-pandemic prices. As Ontario turns a corner in the COVID-19 pandemic, the average cost of rentals has risen by nearly $150 from the 12-month lows we saw in January. And much of that uptick has occurred in the last 90 days alone.