14 Dec 2021

Episode 93: Luxury condo sales rocket average condo prices to all times highs 

Ladies, gentlemen, and friends beyond the binary… it’s official… people are buying in Toronto and staying in Toronto. Despite what a few of my followers, on TikTok, might lead you to believe (ha!).

Supply across the board is bottoming out; historical lows virtually across the board from downtown condos to multimillion dollar estates, all severely undersupplied.

Some would argue that this is simply a case of seasonal lows. Look, if every December we hit a new all-time low I’d agree with you, but we not only have the typical seasonal decrease in supply we go beyond that, and not by a little.

Also, buyer demand usually eases off this time of year. But, not this year. Buyer and renter demand across the board remains relatively unchanged.

Luxury sales went flying last week and pulled the average condo price with it. A huge sale at 1 Bloor led the way with zero days on market and over $3,000 per square foot achieved… nearly $8mm for a 2468 sqft penthouse stunner. And, another lower floor unit traded at just under $2,700/PSF.

Then back to a more reasonable $1,606/PSF for a $6.5mm Yorkville stunner and $1800/PSF for a beauty at the stunning 1 St. Thomas (where Drake used to live).

Why does this matter? It should speak to the many who are balking at pre-construction prices as being out of touch with realit… I mean, they are… in some cases, but believe it or not there are some amazing buys out there.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying go and pay $1500/PSF for any old condo. There are some projects I wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole, and others I’d go all-in on at $2000/PSF. If you want to dig deeper on this, comment below or send me an email/text. I’ll keep you posted.

The fact is Toronto is getting more expensive by the minute. Why? Many reasons but the main one is: people are buying homes here and staying here. There are more people immigrating vs emigrating.

House prices are purely driven by end user demand, not investor demand. Condos are a mixed bag, as there have been a ton of new investors entering the market over the past decade. But, that slowed as Toronto restricted airbnbs, and many panic sold (early pandemic).

But, as the rental market improves (and it is improving), you should see more investor activity in the resale vs. pre-construction market.

An anecdotal example: We listed this unit at 1190 Dundas last week. Very quiet first week on the market and then all of a sudden we have three offers and get $2,300/mth for a one bed plus den with NO parking or locker. We were previously getting $1750 for this unit as we had to lease it out during mid-pandemic.

That’s my story, but there are many others like it right now.

The condo market is doing exactly what I said it would, it’s ending the year with historical low inventory and extremely high prices. Congratulations to those who got in during the down market over the past few months.

It’s not all doom and gloom for those waiting to enter the market. There will always be opportunities for you. But, if you’re going from one offer loss to another… then I’d question your representation. You need to be working with a professional who understands how to win in aggressive seller markets like this. So now’s the time to have your aunt Sally who’s been selling real estate since 1974 step aside and let the real pros take a stab at this for you. Sorry, aunt Sally!

Anyway, if you’re a seller I expect things to continue this way for both houses and condos into the early part of Q1 2022, so don’t fret if you’re not ready to go to market right away.

As you know, I’m the only one tracking these markets weekly so keep checking in here to see if I’m spotting a slowing trend. We should slow in the next couple months (as the patterns have proven in the past).

Get in touch with us if you’d like a list of available assignments to help cut through some of this competition out there.

That’s all for today, please DM, comment below, or email Ara@thespringteam.ca if you want some clarity on the market and your specific situation!

Urban Markets: Downtown & Surrounding Areas
House Average Price: $1,688,737
House Median Price: $1,465,000
263 Active Listings
61 Firm Sales This Week
Months of Inventory (MoI) ~ 0.78
Average Days on Market ~ 19.93 DoM

Condo Average Price: $954,398
Condo Median Price: $738,444
987 Active Listings
143 Firm Sales This Week
MoI ~ 1.06
Average Days on Market (DOM) ~ 21.95

Urban North: Rosedale, Deer Park, Moore Park, Forest Hill, & Lawrence Park
House Average Price: $3,079,911
House Median Price: $2,815,000
86 Active Listings
11 Firm Sales This Week
Months of Inventory (MoI) ~ 1.14
Average Days on Market ~ 10 DoM

Condo Average Price: $1,534,000
Condo Median Price: $950,000
168 Active Listings
11 Firm Sales This Week
MoI ~ 2.06
Average Days on Market ~ 9.15 DoM

Leaside, Davisville, Yonge & Eglinton
House Average Price: $2,162,333
House Median Price: $2,100,000
24 Active Listings
12 Firm Sales This Week
Months of Inventory (MoI) ~ 0.734
Average Days on Market ~ 11DoM

Condo Average Price: $859,750
Condo Median Price: $724,000
51 Active Listings
10 Firm Sales This Week
MoI ~ 0.79
Average Days on Market ~ 30 DoM

Birch Cliff
House Average Price: $1,125,000
House Median Price: $1,025,000
7 Active Listings
4 Firm Sales This Week
Months of Inventory (MoI) ~ 0.46
Average Days on Market ~ 11.5 DoM

Thanks so much for your energy and attention! If you need clarity on any of this or want to talk about your specific situation, then call/text/email anytime: Ara@thespringteam.ca or 416-434-1511.

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