Buyers are landing homes for way under listing price across these parts of the GTA

Despite some recent flickers of life in the form of recovering sales figures, the Toronto-area housing market is still in somewhat of an extended death spiral that has property owners, developers and realtors pulling out their hair.

Home prices are sinking as a glut of listings keeps the market weighed down with a record number of homes for sale — a good thing in a hub as notoriously competitive for housing as Toronto, but not when would-be buyers remain too wary of recession, tariffs and the steep cost of investment at current rates to actually dive in.

But those willing and able to take the risk at the moment are enjoying the payoff of being able to secure a property of their own for far less than they may have just a few years ago. And, less than they're listed for now.

Digital real estate platform Wahi has released the latest of its monthly analyses on over- and under-bidding in GTA real estate, showing that in the month of September, the vast majority of homes switching hands went for under asking price.

Looking geographically, a total of 92 per cent of neighbourhoods were considered in "underbidding" territory, while in eight per cent of pockets, the typical home is still selling for more than asking.

These figures represent a more balanced market than the region saw in August — when successfully underbidding was the norm in a shocking 98 per cent of the GTA — but still show a landscape that is very much in favour of buyers.

And, the trend is more pronounced in certain areas, where savings of over $100,000 (from what sellers are hoping to get) are possible.

The best neighbourhoods for bargains at this point, per Wahi's survey, are Toronto's Forest Hill (where homes were underbid by an average of $272,500 last month), Ledbury Park (underbid by an average of $145,000), Lawrence Park (underbid by ~$145,000), York Mills (~$126,888) and Oakville's Eastlake community (where homes went for about $105,000 less than asking price).

And, if the best deal for your buck is what you have in mind, you'll want to avoid Toronto's Dovercourt Park (where homes are going for around $202,000 more than list price), The Danforth (getting bid up by an average of $127,000), Riverdale ($115,000), Syme ($78,100) and Harbord Village ($65,000).

One must note, though, that the average sold price of the most-underbid addresses is significantly higher than the most-overbid: $3,208,600, compared to $1,218,300.

While the standard home in Syme, for example, sells for more than it's listed for, it still sits at around only $845,000. Comparatively, the average price of a home sold in Forest Hill, the most underbid pocket by dollar amount last month, was a whopping $3,175,000, savings be damned.

Wahi's experts say that while the month-over-month change in the latest data could be considered, at surface level, a sign that the sector is rebounding, seasonal trends do have to be considered, making it too little to go on as far as predicting what's to come in the near future.

"We shouldn't read too much into one month of more widespread overbidding activity, given the role seasonality plays, [though] the latest numbers do ultimately suggest that more homebuyers were involved in multiple-offer situations, and, if the trend persists, it could be an early sign of recovery," the firm wrote in its release.