Condo market slowing down but still deals in Oshawa and Durham and in smaller units

Real estate activity in the GTA has slowed down considerably in recent weeks, says Strata.ca, but there is still some heat in the condo market, especially for smaller units and in the suburbs.

Realtors say they’re seeing a trend where a number of units are being relisted a week later because the seller’s original pricing strategy backfired.

“I’m seeing offer dates listed by overly optimistic listing agents, but then many of those same listings are being put back on the market at a higher price a week later,” explains Strata.ca realtor Cyrus Ghazvini, who says he’s pretty sure it wasn’t because the seller didn’t like any of the offers that came through. “It’s likely because no offers came in on offer night, period.”

Agents note that high-quality 2-bedroom units in popular neighbourhoods are sitting on the market much longer, and a lot of that may have to do with supply.

“When it comes to larger units, such as 2 bedrooms, 758 has been listed so far in the month of November,” says Strata.ca‘s Broker of Record, Robert Van Rhijn, who compared that number with 1-bedroom units (444) and 1-bedroom + den (306)

Van Rhijn believes we may still see a competitive market this winter, but only for very specific unit types; namely smaller units, particularly in the downtown core, as well as suburban townhomes.

Last month seven of the most in-demand condo properties in the GTA were outside Toronto. Five of the top six, in fact, were in Durham Region.

Those properties averaged five days on the market and sold, on average, for 28.6 per cent over asking.

Strata.ca realtor Osman Omaid has been feeling the over-supply pinch in the market first-hand as he tries to secure a townhouse for a client in Peel.

“Even with a reasonable budget, we’ve been losing out because some of these listings are attracting over 10 bids on offer night,” he says, adding that his clients lost out on two townhouses in a relatively short period. “My clients are understandably exhausted and have decided to wait until next year; but who knows where prices will be by then?”