Condos, detached homes see 9% boost in sales as Toronto-area prices continue to trend downward

Despite tighter market conditions, selling prices dropped by almost five per cent compared to last year, reaching $1.05 million. Since the February 2022 peak, the average GTA sales price has dropped by 21 per cent.

But prices have improved since January’s low of $970,000. 

Jason Mercer, TRREB’s chief information officer, says the tightening of the market is a “signal” that the market is beginning to trend in the right direction.

Currently, there is still ample supply, providing buyers with more negotiating power, placing downward pressure on pricing.

“But if we continue to see this trend of tightening play out throughout the spring, then there is going to be more competition between homebuyers and that’ll start to provide a little bit of support for prices,” he said.

He added that prices will flatline for some time, but if sales continue to trend higher it will place upward pressure on pricing in the second half of 2026 and into 2027. 

The sales-to-new-listing ratio is 34.7 per cent indicating a buyers’ market, where buyers have more negotiating power on pricing.

Sales were up by a greater monthly rate than new listings, potentially suggesting more competition between buyers in some neighbourhoods, the report said. 

Sales were up for all home types in the GTA with detached properties taking the lead with a 9.2 per cent boost year over year, followed by condos with 9.1 per cent increase. Townhomes and semi-detached trailed behind at 0.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent annual increase, respectively.

The boost in sales for condos can be attributed to first-time homebuyers jumping into the market as condo prices have dropped significantly while a glut of inventory has remained online. 

“It’s a traditional entry point for first-time buyers moving from the rental market and into home ownership,” Mercer said, adding that the strong year-over-year growth in that market segment is concentrated in downtown Toronto, which has ample supply and not a lot of competition amongst buyers.

For detached homes, Mercer said that homeowners looking to upsize could see the spring market as their opportunity as prices continue downward.

While sales got a marginal boost in April, they’re still well below the historic norm for the month, which before the pandemic would often reach around 8,900 sales for the month. 

Prices were down for all property types with townhomes seeing the greatest price decline at 7.9 per cent year over year, followed by condos at 6.3 per cent, then semi-detached at 5.2 per cent, and detached at 4.1 per cent. 

“We’re still, you know, below where sales typically are for this month and it just speaks to the level of pent-up demand that’s in the marketplace and the number of people who still remain on the sidelines,” Mercer said.

“A key factor underlying that is the lack of confidence due to the unsettled situation with the U.S. and the potential issues with the war in the Middle East impacting inflation and interest rates moving forward.”