Here's another big sign Toronto's housing market is in turmoil right now

Toronto's real estate market is stuck between a very large rock and a very hard place as the city faces the unique dilemma of having more than 30,000 homes up for sale that few can realistically afford, but that owners can't let go of for less than the prohibitive prices the city accepted as the norm for so many years, and that they themselves paid.

The data points have been trending in an unsettling direction for local realtors, property owners and developers, the latter of whom are now stalling projects in response to a profound sales slump during a time when building costs (including municipal levies and other taxes) are ever more exorbitant.

Along with a sharp decline in the number of homes switching hands and a consequent drop in construction activity, there has also been an uptick in power of sale listings as more people default on their mortgages, and far more properties selling for under asking price while homes sit on the market for way longer than they would have a few years ago.

Now, more distressing numbers: a magnificent spike in the number of cancelled listings as sellers either adjust their strategy, or give up on listing their home right now altogether.

Sellers are terminating listings at a record pace in the GTA this year: pic.twitter.com/wMCClhNUTC

— Daniel Foch (@daniel_foch) June 24, 2025

A graph shared to X on Tuesday by Daniel Foch, chief real estate officer at Valery.ca and host of The Canadian Real Estate Investor podcast, shows that 2025 has been a banner year for terminated listings in the GTA, with a record number far above any year in the last 15, and still peaking as the weeks go on.

This is, of course, by virtue of the glut of inventory the region has had for months now — yes, amid a housing supply crisis — but the pattern is still telling.

As Foch notes in a subsequent post, "sellers will often terminate to re-list in hopes that it resurrects the stale listing" when there is a lack of bites — something that has gone from a rarity to all too common in and around Toronto.

Many will likely relist their condo or house at a lower price and weather a steep loss if they are desperate enough to sell (a cost-of-living crisis and recession will do that to you), or may wait things out until the heat returns to the market.

That is, if it ever does — a growing question mark as activity remains so stagnant month over month.