Toronto apartment sold at significant loss shows just how turbulent market is

A Toronto apartment sold at a massive loss last month demonstrates just how much prices in the city's real estate market tend to vary year-over-year. 

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, located at 190 Borough Dr. in Scarborough, comes with over 1,000 square feet of living space, an open-concept modern kitchen with granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances.

According to the listing, the building itself also comes with its fair share of amenities, including 24-hour security, a gym, pool, sauna, BBQ area, party room, and visitor's parking. 

The apartment's staggering loss was featured in a post by @ShaziGoalie last week, who regularly shares interesting happenings in Ontario's real estate market on X (formerly Twitter). 

"Scarborough Condo Sells for $653K, Marking a Devastating 25% Loss in Two Years." 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/VHoUO2WVZz

— Shazi (@ShaziGoalie) May 18, 2024

After roughly one week on the market in February 2022, the apartment sold for $868,000, at a time when the city's real estate market saw an uptick in demand and skyrocketing prices thanks to cheaper borrowing rates. 

Just over two years later, the apartment was put back on the market for $684,900. Following two weeks on the market, the apartment eventually sold for $653,000 — representing a substantial loss of $215,000 in just two years.

Over the past few months, more and more properties in and around Toronto have been selling at massive losses, including one Mississauga condo that was sold in April at a $250,000 loss. 

Ontario home sold at $500k loss after 5 failed attempts to sell https://t.co/ibtf1Np3Lz

— blogTO (@blogTO) April 23, 2024

However, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) says prospective home buyers in the GTA benefited from more choice in the market throughout April 2024, as well as little movement in the average selling price. 

"Generally speaking, buyers are benefitting from ample choice in the GTA resale market in April. As a result, there was little movement in selling prices compared to last year," said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.

Mississauga condo sold at massive loss shows just how much prices fluctuate https://t.co/ymGP56o9y2

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 24, 2024

"Looking forward, the expectation is that lower borrowing costs will prompt tighter market conditions in the months to come, which will result in renewed price growth, especially as we move into 2025." 

GTA realtors reported a total of 7,114 sales through TRREB's MLS System in April 2024 – down by five per cent compared to April 2023. On the other hand, the average selling price was up by 0.3 per cent to $1,156,167