Week 120: Loads of Opportunities in Toronto’s Real Estate!

This week I’m going to focus on the opportunities (and a couple of predictions) in the Toronto Real Estate market.

If you’re a full-time real estate bear or all-around pessimist, you’re probably not even reading this as you probably think everything is going to zero anyway.

This post (and pretty much any other piece of content we ever put out) are for the reasonable people of Toronto (and a few across the globe) who understand that markets cycle regularly and that there’s a ton of opportunity on the way up and definitely on the way down.

I started my career just before the financial crisis of 2007/2008. It was a blessing, as it taught me how to communicate with scared people.

I was so new that I didn’t have much value to add to conversations back then (and if you’re a new agent reading this, you have no business working independently! Join a team or have a great mentor…there’s no other option). But I was surrounded by a fantastic mentor and seasoned agents who’d been in the business for over 20 years at the time.

I was able to learn a ton! I saw them keep their clients calm. I saw them tell their Sellers to hold and not panic sell. I saw them call every buyer they could find to tell them about the opportunity ahead.

Intelligent agents and economists understood that the US market at the time was over-hyped and fueled by predatory lending practices. The old NINJA load…No Income No Job APPROVED!

It was a disgusting display of greed by the market makers.

Properties were flipped 4x before closing by people with no skin in the game. Defaults were through the roof. Their collapse was inevitable.

So if you’re taking advice or speaking to anyone who’s comparing the Toronto market to the US and saying, “See, it happened there, and we’re looking like the same now,” you need to either slap them in the face as hard as you can to shake some sense into them or turn around and walk away. They cannot be taken seriously.

Ask yourself this question: What are you doing now if you decided not to buy real estate at the peak of our market back in Jan/Feb early March? You said you’d buy as prices came down. Are we down enough now?

Not if you’re in our urban markets. In week 107, I talked about the Burgs, not the Burbs, that would be affected this time. It turns out I was right! (well, except not so right about Oshawa…they’re down)

We’re coming across many buyers who think these fantastic deals are out there. When they go out on the hunt, they see competition, over-asking sales, and at asking sales.  Not the discounts they hoped for. Not in houses anyway.

Condos have taken a turn for the worst. We see many entry-level condos back down in the $400’s to low $500’s. We see many excellent downtown properties selling at great pre-Jan/Feb 2022 prices.

And that’s the critical point. We’re down from the highs of Jan/Feb 2022, but when we compare to Q3/Q4 of 2021, we’re up.

So, where’s the bottom?

Terrible question! In general, the previous set of high prices is being supported in some cases while in others, they’re not.

Remember, we’re not day-trading real estate here. Real estate is a long-term hold investment and if there are short-term profit opportunities…take them. It all depends on where you are in your life and how much exposure to short-term risk your portfolio can handle.

How’s the market right now, and what does it all mean to you?

Today’s market presents many opportunities for people. So far, the only people complaining out there are people that aren’t investors, property owners, or anyone with long-term vision.

If you’re taking advice from people, make sure they are active real estate buyers. I can’t tell you how much money someone’s “Aunt Sally,” who hasn’t bought real estate in 35 years, has cost past clients who’ve been talked out of buying because “prices were too high.” In their most uneducated opinion.

If I’m an investor, I’m looking in the assignment market. Like this place here. I have the best floor plan available on the market for under $1100/PSF. When local resale is trading at over that. Every day.

If I’m an investor, I’m looking at the resale condo market and buying everything possible. Why? The rental market is insanely strong.

We’re getting a ton of applications on every rental we put out there at prices that will blow your mind.

People still need places to live, and with many more nervous buyers looking to the rental market for their next home, rentals at all levels are thriving.

An ideal opportunity for you to buy and even cash flow sometimes. We haven’t seen that in years. And make sure you buy a unit that was constructed after November 2018, so rent control doesn’t apply. That’ll help you increase rates down eh road to meet the market where it’s at.

I’m looking at that Semi that would have traded up to $1.8 that’s now settled around $1.5-1.6mm with way less competition.
Not all, but some are here.

I’m looking at that detached that went north of $2mm but is now settling in the high $1’s. Not all but some.

I’m looking at that forgotten pre-con project with the remaining inventory people have moved on from. Think along Kingston Rd to Pickering. We have some options for you there.

I’m looking at commercial/residential properties (especially if they’re vacant) as buyers have dried up in some cases there. Some great discounts are available off the peak here too.

There are opportunities and loads of money to be made in any market. Up or Down. There’s probably some more slowing as we head into the Summer (it happens every year), but this fall should bounce back. We’ll see how people react to the subsequent two interest rate hikes.

So you could continue to listen to the uneducated and skeptical ramblings of your favourite TikTok or Twitter agent, or you could see the opportunities and make some actual moves that will give you the retirement you deserve.

Let’s talk!

Have a wonderful day, and don’t forget to share this. We have over 42,000 subscribers, and the list keeps growing. Thank you for that!

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Facebook. We post some real-time stats on our channels you don’t want to miss. You can also catch up on my 2022 real estate forecast post here.

And, please find me on Twitter as I’ve been more active there these days.

That’s all for today; thanks so much for your energy and attention. If you want some clarity on the market and your specific situation, please DM, comment below or email Ara@thespringteam.ca.

Urban Markets: Downtown & Surrounding Areas
House Average Price: $1,651,879
House Median Price: $1,350,000
613 Active Listings
75 Firm Sales This Week
Months of Inventory (MoI) ~ 1.74
Average Days on Market ~ 11.52 DoM

Condo Average Price: $779,912
Condo Median Price: $706,000
1919 Active Listings
105 Firm Sales This Week
MoI ~ 2.06
Average Days on Market (DOM) ~ 16.81

Urban North: Rosedale, Deer Park, Moore Park, Forest Hill, & Lawrence Park
House Average Price: $3,331,770
House Median Price: $2,777,620
150 Active Listings
12 Firm Sales This Week
Months of Inventory (MoI) ~ 2.24
Average Days on Market ~ 11.67 DoM

Condo Average Price: $1,126,375
Condo Median Price: $1,090,000
213 Active Listings
8 Firm Sales This Week
MoI ~ 2.36
Average Days on Market ~ 15.63

Leaside, Davisville, Yonge & Eglinton
House Average Price: $2,599,310
House Median Price: $2,680,000
54 Active Listings
7 Firm Sales This Week
Months of Inventory (MoI) ~ 1.30
Average Days on Market ~ 5.57 DoM

Condo Average Price: $771,210
Condo Median Price: $765,000
183 Active Listings
13 Firm Sales This Week
MoI ~ 2.20
Average Days on Market ~ 15 DoM

Birch Cliff
House Average Price: $1,222,620
House Median Price: $1,030,000
32 Active Listings
5 Firm Sales This Week
Months of Inventory (MoI) ~ 1.38
Average Days on Market ~ 8.4 DoM

Kingston Rd Corridor to Highland Creek
House Average Price: $1,649,414
House Median Price: $1,125,000
97 Active Listings
7 Firm Sales This Week
Months of Inventory (MoI) ~ 1.33
Average Days on Market ~ 6.14 DoM

Condo Average Price: $598,333
Condo Median Price: $565,000
56 Active Listings
3 Firm Sales This Week
MoI ~ 1.82
Average Days on Market ~ 15 DoM

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