Toronto is no longer the hottest housing market in Ontario

It looks like Toronto is not the hottest real estate market in the province anymore, as now this name belongs to Oakville, says Zoocasa.

Its new report ranks the most expensive markets in Ontario based on average sale prices in October. In addition to it, the report shows the competitive level of each city according to sales-to-new-listings ratio.

The Toronto housing market took the seventh position with an average home price of $1,025,925 and a 45% sales-to-new-listings ratio. Such numbers point to a balanced market.

Meanwhile, Oakville was the most expensive city in the Ontario. Here, the average home price reached $1,313,481, and the sales-to-new-listings ratio was 69%, meaning the market conditions are more preferable for sellers. However, even Oakville wasn’t as competitive as Whitby and Burlington with 89% and 88% ratio, respectfully.

Orangeville showed a 105% sales-to-new-listings ratio, which means it’s the most competitive market in the GTA. At the same time, St. Catharines was the most competitive city in the province among the 35 markets listed.

Zoocasa says only 5 of 35 markets showed balanced conditions, while others were more preferable for sellers.

It turns out, Toronto was the least competitive housing market among the 35. Its sales-to-new-listings-ratio fell sharply because of the wave of newly built condo apartments. Moreover, buyers shifted away from the city during the pandemic.

Whitby and Burlington’s sales-to-new-listings ratio increase was caused by the wave of buyers searching for more green space, especially as more people started working from home.

In October, there were 7,823 new listings and only 3,514 sales in Toronto. Of those new listings, condos accounted for 4,494 were condos, and only 1,438 of them were sold. Last month, Toronto’s sales-to-new-listings ratio showed a slight gain to 51.3%.

“Today, buyers are most interested in freehold properties with backyards,” – noted Zoocasa agent Claudio Castro. “Houses listed in the $1 million range are the most popular.”