Aspiring Toronto real estate investors looking to jump into the housing market might have an excellent opportunity to finally do so. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reported that August saw Toronto real estate selling prices at their lowest point since February 2021. After the enormous highs seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, investors could be looking at this as the time to secure an investment property for a lower price.
The Toronto real estate market remains hot, but selling price was down in August
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Toronto housing market has seen some of its highest highs on record, with average selling prices soaring above $1,000,000. While the market has corrected itself slightly, the real estate market in Toronto remains hot and shows few signs of “normalizing” anytime soon. August 2021 saw an average selling price of $1,000,008, the lowest price since February 2021. Many of these sales were condos, which made up more than 1,700 of the 3,003 real estate transactions in Toronto. In fact, condo sales were up 13% over last August.
Some have attributed this drop in price to buyers and sellers being more focused on enjoying the last remaining days of summer, with real estate sales falling 19.9% in the GTA from last year, and new listings down a significant 43%. Demand continues to vastly outweigh the actual supply of real estate in Toronto, largely due to the market conditions presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Supply of real estate and housing affordability in Canada remains a hot button issue that each of the major federal parties promises to tackle in years to come.
Why now might be the right time to jump into the market
For aspiring real estate investors or real estate investors looking to expand their portfolio, this recent drop in selling price might be the perfect time to jump into the market. This is especially true if the record highs presented by the pandemic scared you off temporarily. The recent slowdown in selling price for most types of Toronto housing presents an opportunity to purchase an investment property at a more affordable price than anytime since the beginning of the year.
With supply looking particularly dreadful and reaching close to all-time lows, you’d be hard pressed to find a better time than now to invest. Waiting could present you with marginally lower prices, but at the cost of incredibly low supply, possibly forcing you and other investors to settle on an investment property that either doesn’t meet your needs, or requires a great deal of renovating and maintenance.
While federal parties are promising to address the price and supply of housing in Canada, these issues can and very likely will take a long time to address properly. Unless you’re looking to sit on the sidelines until the government takes action and potentially miss out on some truly exciting investment opportunities, now might very well be the time to get started – especially if you’re looking to purchase a Toronto condo. The worst of the pandemic seems to be over, meaning that the rental housing market is extremely likely to bounce back sooner than later.
For investors itching to get started in the Toronto real estate market, that gives you more than enough time to purchase and close on an investment property, renovate it to your liking, research an appropriate price level for your rental property, and look into professional property management services to take care of your new investment for you. The market will be back to thriving before you know it, and so getting a head start on your rental property will give you the upper hand in finding high quality tenants and making your listing more attractive than others in the area.
HighGate Properties is more than just the leading provider of Toronto property management services, our team also includes experienced realtors which specialize in investment properties. We can help you find the perfect investment based on your budget and determine what price is worth jumping in at. For more information about the property management and realty services offered by the team at HighGate, get in touch with us today.
