Condo sales and rentals were up at the end of 2020, while prices went down

In case you were thinking about renting or purchasing a condo or an apartment in the GTA at the end of 2020, you could have been in a more favourable position during negotiations.

According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), the number of condos listed for sale or rent in the GTA showed double or event triple digit increases during the last quarter of the previous year compared to Q4 2019. Meanwhile, the prices were down.

“The supply growth led to a wider choice and a stronger bargaining power for buyers and a modest drop in average sale prices,” – says TRREB president Lisa Patel.

She adds that the market became more favourable for renters, as they had many properties at the market with no clients for months.

This market change was reported over the last few months of 2020, when the GTA had to implement stricter COVID-19 lockdowns. Moreover, we’ve seen a looming possibility of a tax on vacant units, and the short-term rental market slowed down because of travel bans and work from home regulations.

TRREB says condo and apartment sales in Q4 showed a 20.7% annual increase from 5,358 to 6,469. New listings were up by about 92%: from 6,407 to 12,298, and active listings doubled to 4,294.

The average price was down by 1.1% from a year ago to $610,044, and the average prices in the city of Toronto fell by 2.4% to $644,516.

Patel says the demand for condo rental reached a record high level.

TRREB’s new report shows 12,584 condos were rented in Q4, which is almost 86% more than the 6,756 rentals seen a year earlier. The rental listings rose by as much as 131.6% from 33,280 and 14,371.

“The increase in the number of available properties exceeded growth in rental transactions significantly, as many investors had to make their properties more available because of the influence COVID-19 had on tourism and the short-term rental market,” – noted Patel.

Homeowners reduced their rent compared to a year earlier. As a result, the average one-bedroom condo rent fell by 16.5% annually from $2,209 to $1,845, and the average two-bedroom condo rent fell by 14.5% from $2,868 to $2,453.