Posthaste: These are the best buyers' markets in Canadian real estate — for now
If you looking to buy a home in Toronto, now might be the time, according to a new study — but don’t wait too long.
According to online realtor Zoocasa, Canada’s largest city has the lowest sales-to-new listings ratio among the country’s major centres.
Zoocasa analyzed markets across Canada based on these ratios, using September data from the Canada Real Estate Association.
The ratio or SNLR is calculated as the number of sales divided by the number of new listings. A percentage over 60 per cent is a seller’s market, while below 40 per cent is a buyer’s market.
In the Greater Toronto Area where new listings are outpacing demand, the sales-to-new listings ratio has slipped from 29 per cent in 2023 to 28 per cent.
The rebalancing has brought buyers relief from the intense competition and bidding wars seen in previous years, said Zoocasa’s Angela Serednicki, who wrote the report.
“While the GTA remains one of Canada’s priciest markets, this shift offers a more accessible window for buyers, making it an encouraging time to step into homeownership in one of the country’s most desirable urban hubs,” she said.
But perhaps not for long.
In October, sales in the Toronto area shot up 44.4 per cent from the year before, suggesting that more affordable prices and Bank of Canada interest rate cuts were bringing buyers back to market.
In the Greater Vancouver Area, another buyers’ market with a SNLR of 30 per cent, sales were up 32 per cent last month, with sales of all property types increasing by double-digits.
Robert Hogue, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada, says the rise in supply in the housing market is for the most part a welcome development.
The increase in new listings in September was the biggest since July,
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