Toronto home sales taking absolute nosedive and nobody wants to buy

While the trade war is expected to have some effect on Toronto area real estate, given the substantial blow it's posing to Canada's economy overall, the market has already been in the pits for years now, falling far from the days of quick, easy sales for well over asking price.

Listings keep accumulating — putting Toronto at the top of the nation's list for most homes hitting the market — while sales are diminishing to rock bottom levels not seen in decades.

April's numbers, just released by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) on Tuesday, serve to reinforce fears that we may have yet to see the worst for local homeowners, many of whom vastly overpaid for the dream of owning a space of their own in the infamously overvalued city.

Last month saw 23.3 per cent fewer homes changing hands across the Toronto area than in April of 2024, making for the worst non-pandemic April for sales in 29 years.

The average selling price of a home of any type likewise fell, though by a far less extreme 4.1 per cent year-over-year to an average of $1,107,463.

This was more pronounced for condos (-6.8 per cent, to $678,048) and detached homes (-5.4 per cent, to $1,431,495), with townhomes in many ways floating the market.

Meanwhile, the number of newly-listed homes edged up by 8.1 per cent, pushing the number of active listings a whopping 54 per cent higher than it was at this time last year. But, as bonkers as this last figure is, it is actually an improvement to recent months, when active listings surged by as much as 70.2 per cent.

TRREB also notes that April sales were up from March, which follows the regular seasonal trends of the market, before providing a bit of hope for stakeholders.

Last month's housing stats from TRREB.

What happens next will depend on whether Donald Trump increases or eases up his tariffs on Canadian imports, which, along with interest rates and a generally weak economy, have prospective buyers waiting for better conditions.

"Following the recent federal election, many households across the GTA are closely monitoring the evolution of our trade relationship with the U.S. If this relationship moves in a positive direction, we could see an uptick in transactions driven by improved consumer confidence and a market that is both more affordable and better supplied," the report reads.

But this cautious optimism that realtors have held for some months in the face of a prolonged downturn is not shared by all.

One expert told BNN Bloomberg this week that the number of unsold condos in Toronto has reached "an incredible level," with "no sign that it;s going to level off or that there's going to be any reduction in the near term" given, primarily, how unlivable the city's newer builds in particular are — something we have covered extensively in the past.