House hunters in the Toronto-area real estate market have picked up the pace in recent weeks, with a modest increase in sales and some spirited bidding wars.
Despite the renewed energy, buyers and sellers both remain capricious.
Now that the Victoria Day long weekend is in the past, some homeowners are rushing to list while the spring market has a few weeks left to run.
Sales in April rose 7 per cent in the Greater Toronto Area compared with the same month last year, while new listings shrank 9.3 per cent in the same period.
“This isn’t a sign that things are hot,” cautions Patrick Rocca, broker with Bosley Real Estate, who notes that in midtown, Mr. Rocca sold a condo with an asking price in the $2.5-million.
The average price in the GTA stood at $1,051,969 in April. That marks a 4.9-per-cent drop from the $1,106,505 recorded in April, 2025.
The harsh winter, war in the Middle East, two weeks of school March break and unusually chilly spring weather have all contributed to a lacklustre year-to-date, in his opinion.
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Mr. Rocca figures the delayed spring market may extend the season a little longer than usual this year.
In midtown, Mr. Rocca sold a condo with an asking price in the $2.5-million range after it had been on the market for one year. The buyers are downsizers who had been looking at the unit for months before making a decision, he says.
Mr. Rocca still sees many buyers waffling. In some cases, clients plan to submit an offer, then back out five minutes before the agent is set to present it.
At other times, a buyer’s agent suggests an offer is in the works, but the bid never arrives.
Sometimes a low offer comes in, but the buyer walks away when the seller signs back a counter-offer.
In mid-May, Mr. Rocca received two offers for a small detached house in midtown, a few days after listing the property with an asking price around the $1.5-million mark.
The seller accepted the higher offer, which came with conditions. After some minor tussles over the details, the deal fell apart when the husband decided he didn’t like the house as much as his wife did.
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Mr. Rocca revived the second bid, but those buyers were not only unreasonable on price but also refused to provide standard information to prove they were qualified to buy.
“It’s been three days of hell,” he says ruefully.
People are still hesitating on the listing side too, he adds.
Mr. Rocca attributes the contraction in listings compared with April of last year to owners who are nervous about selling.
“They don’t want to make the move,” he says. “They are worried about the value of their home.”
Economists Rachel Battaglia and Abbey Xu of Royal Bank of Canada find Canadian consumers surprisingly resilient over the past year in the face of trade wars, immigration cuts and persistent economic uncertainty.
Still, they are keeping an eye on the capacity of consumers to handle higher energy prices – especially in Ontario and British Columbia, where households experienced the largest loss in real estate values in 2025.
Though declining home values don’t directly affect the savings of consumers, Ms. Battaglia and Ms. Xu point out, people who take note of the decrease may rein in their spending.
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Most of the cities with the largest increase in mortgage delinquencies are in Ontario and B.C., they point out.
Mr. Rocca sees an increase in lenders selling properties under the ‘power of sale’ process as more homeowners buckle under financial pressure.
“We’re starting to see a lot more of those.”
He adds that some buyers seek out sellers in distress, but lenders typically want out with the highest price they can achieve.
“People think they’re getting a bargain but not necessarily.”
Andre Kutyan, broker with Harvey Kalles Real Estate, says choosing an asking price that will undercut rivals remains key in most neighbourhoods,
Mr. Kutyan has the most success with sparking competition around the $1.5-million mark, where the pool of buyers is vast. In that segment, he sees first-time buyers, condo dwellers moving up, downsizers and plenty of help from the bank of mom and dad.
“There’s a ton of people out there looking.”
Mr. Kutyan has sold four properties in that price range in recent weeks with between nine and 13 offers each.
In every case, he set an aggressive asking price in order to drum up competition.
This three-bedroom semi-detached house at 467 Hillsdale Ave. E. in Toronto's Davisville neighbourhood is in the sought-after Maurice Cody Junior Public School area.Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd.
The downside of setting a higher price with room to negotiate is that the buyer’s agent will lob a lowball offer and justify it with a speech about the terrible market, the antics of U.S. President Donald Trump and the war in Iran, Mr. Kutyan says, adding that he can recite the script.
“You’ve got to flip the narrative on the buyer,” he says.
A bidding skirmish changes the mindset of buyers’ agents to “what do I have to do to get this?” he says.
While some of the bids come in far below a realistic sale price, two or three typically jump out, he says, and he narrows the pool to negotiate with those buyers.
In the Davisville neighbourhood, Mr. Kutyan took on the listing for a three-bedroom semi-detached house at 467 Hillsdale Ave. E. after it was listed with another agent last year.
At that time, the asking price was set for $1.649-million, then lowered to $1.549-million. The seller accepted one conditional offer, but the deal fell apart.
The home is in the sought-after Maurice Cody Junior Public School area, he says, but the previous agent had not brought in a stager to doll up the slightly dated house.
“I needed a new buyer pool,” says Mr. Kutyan.
The five-bedroom home at 10 Whitelaw Court.Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd.
After Mr. Kutyan used the offer date strategy to attract 10 offers for a renovated semi a few streets over, the homeowner on Hillsdale agreed to set an asking price of $1.195-million.
Nine buyers entered the contest and the property fetched $1.481-million, which beat the amount of the failed agreement in the fall.
In York Region, where listings are more abundant, houses tend to linger on the market, says Mr. Kutyan.
In late May he listed a five-bedroom at 10 Whitelaw Ct. with an asking price of $2.998-million.
Mr. Kutyan says not every seller is willing to accept his recommendation for an asking price, and he sometimes loses listings to competitors who suggest a higher amount.
Some homeowners are also reluctant to set a deadline for receiving offers.
“If you’re prepared to sell in this range, this is what we have to do, and don’t be scared of what I’m telling you for an asking price,” is his blunt message to aspiring sellers.
Despite the data on recent sales Mr. Kutyan packs for his meetings with homeowners, prospective sellers can be extremely tetchy.
“I got thrown out of a house this week,” he says incredulously.
Mr. Kutyan believed he had an excellent rapport with a homeowner in the affluent Hogg’s Hollow pocket until he recommended an asking price.
The indignant homeowner ended the conversation and ushered him to the door, explaining that she doesn’t need to sell.
As he was tossed out the door, Mr. Kutyan offered his parting wisdom:
“If you don’t need to sell, don’t list your house. This is not the market for testing the waters.”