Toronto's housing market has cooled down significantly this summer but we'll see if it lasts

In a city where tiny semi-detached homes that require a full gutting are being listed for $1 million, places with only two bedrooms are going for $3.5 million and you need to make well over $220k per year to afford a place of your own, it's understandable why someone would lose interest in even looking at what's available in Toronto's housing market anymore.

But for those who are still holding out hope to secure a home in the 6ix, this last month has shown at least some improvements, which, though they haven't rendered things affordable by any means, are at least more favourable than the usual trend of prices and market activity forever increasing.

Starter homes hardly exist in Canada anymore but here's where you can still buy one https://t.co/SriLdktWkk #Canada #RealEstate

— blogTO (@blogTO) July 4, 2023

New stats from real estate listing site Strata.ca show that summer has triggered a lull in the region's resale real estate market, with the volume of home purchases slowing substantially.

Condo sales figures across the GTA dropped a whopping 27 per cent from May to June, with house sales declining by 20 per cent in the same time period. This is also, it is worth noting, amid a period when these numbers have already been shockingly low compared to the heydey of even early last year.

Prices, too, were down $7 per square foot month-over-month for condos (hitting $840 per square foot, on average) in June, while houses remained high at an average $1,385,000.

"Seeing that many buyers are flocking to the cottage, capitalize on this exodus by keeping up with your search.... competition is traditionally less fierce until Labour Day when everyone heads back to the city," Strata.ca sales representative Janelle Tremblett writes to would-be homeowners in her newsletter Tuesday.

She adds that we are still in what is considered a sellers' market, with multiple offers coming in for properties in high-demand areas (e.g. downtown Toronto). Low inventory has been a huge factor as people shy from the market, its high prices and exorbitant interest rates; something that will likely persist as another potential lending rate hike looms next week.

Why buy in GTA?? Is a jungle ..I will never go back to city ,...never! pic.twitter.com/VJ8fR15dLy

— joanna (@joanna92874072) June 21, 2023

The reverse is the situation for renters though, who, if looking for a place, should try to lock one in before students return in time for classes in September.

Prices for tenants remain ridiculous: the average price of a GTA rental listed on Strata.ca jumped nine per cent last month compared to June 2022, reaching $2,880, with most units getting snapped up within two weeks on the market.

The wealthy investors will certainly not be the only ones flocking away from the city if the cost of living continues surging at this rate — though for the rest of us, it will be for good.