GTA condos soft, split market

Toronto-area condos are moving slowly, with buyers hunting for discounts while many sellers still refuse to cut hard enough to make a deal. (trreb.ca) In March 2026, Greater Toronto Area home sales rose 1.7 per cent from a year earlier to 5,039, but new listings fell 16.7 per cent to 14,442 and the average selling price dropped 6.7 per cent to $1,017,796. TRREB said benchmark prices were down 7.4 per cent from March 2025. (trreb.ca) TRREB chief information officer Jason Mercer said buyers still had “substantial negotiating power on price” across major segments in March. That leaves condo owners, agents and lenders trying to value units in a market with fewer clean comparable sales. (trreb.ca) That split is sharper in condos because the broad market is soft while a much smaller luxury tier is behaving differently. Sotheby’s International Realty Canada said five Greater Toronto Area properties priced above $10-million sold in the first quarter of 2025, up from zero a year earlier, even as sales above $1-million and $4-million fell. (theglobeandmail.com) By mid-2025, that divide had widened: Sotheby’s said 12 properties sold above $10-million on the Multiple Listing Service in the first half of 2025, up from four a year earlier, while Greater Toronto Area sales above $4-million fell 28 per cent. Sales of Toronto condos above $1-million were also down 26 per cent. (theglobeandmail.com) In the mainstream condo market, more patience from buyers can mean slower price discovery. Sellers who do not need to move can wait, buyers can keep bidding below ask, and appraisers get fewer recent sales that match a unit’s size, floor, view and fees. (trreb.ca) The wider housing backdrop has not offered much urgency. On April 16, 2026, the Canadian Real Estate Association said national home sales in March were “virtually unchanged” from February and cut its 2026 forecast, citing economic uncertainty. (crea.ca) Even inside Toronto, the signals are mixed. The Globe and Mail’s recent “done deal” reports show some city properties drawing multiple offers while others cut prices to sell, a pattern that makes one condo tower or one luxury penthouse a weak guide to the next listing down the hall. (theglobeandmail.com) For buyers, that means time and leverage; for sellers, it means the market may not confirm a hoped-for price until someone actually signs. In a split market, the asking price is often just the opening argument. (trreb.ca)