2020 was a record year for real estate in the GTA. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, government restrictions and uncertainty in the economy, there were over 95,000 home sales. If you’re thinking that sounds like a high number, that’s because it is. In fact, it’s the third-highest result on record. That’s not all though. Another, even more significant record was recorded in 2020. The average selling price in the Greater Toronto Area has reached almost $930,000 – up by 13.5% compared to 2019.
What’s fuelling this hot market you ask? A few things..
- Increased desire for single-detached homes. With the pandemic lockdowns, work-from-home trend and newly introduced stay-at-home order, who doesn’t want a little more square footage and a backyard these days?
- Cheap money. Record low mortgage rates are allowing buyers to qualify for much higher amounts than they previously would have, greatly increasing their buying power.
- Low inventory + high demand = bidding wars. With not much inventory to choose from, days-on-market are significantly decreasing as more buyers look to make purchases.
There are however some good buying opportunities out there right now for those looking to invest in Toronto’s condo market. From the second quarter of 2020 and onward, there has been plenty of condo apartment inventory available to choose from. I have a feeling this opportunity won’t last for too much longer though. In the past month-or-two, we’ve seen a lot of that inventory start to get eaten up. It’s only a matter of time before Toronto condo prices begin to rise as well – and I anticipate that to begin very soon.
From what we can tell, it definitely looks like it’s going to be full-steam-ahead for residential real estate in 2021. Sellers will see new record-high sale prices and buyers will take advantage of record-low interest rates.
As the quote by Will Rogers says, “Don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait”.
Cheers to 2021.
