Agents say the Toronto market is starting to cool, leading some buyers and sellers to change strategies.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
A burst of buyer enthusiasm in the final weeks of the Toronto spring real estate market appears to be fizzling as many people shift into summer mode.
Meanwhile, some sellers who put their plans on hold during the early months of 2026 are listing their homes after May’s sales marked three consecutive months of improvement.
The shifting dynamic is leading some buyers and sellers to change up their strategies as a result, says Sage Real Estate agent Shane Little.
The spirited bidding contests Mr. Little saw in May have given way to fewer offers and some properties failing to sell on the night scheduled for reviewing offers.
“It’s tangibly cooling a little bit,” says Mr. Little, who focuses on such east-end neighbourhoods as Leslieville, the Beaches and Riverdale with his wife Jenny Simon. “You can really feel that the froth has been taken out.”
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He points to the example of a two-bedroom semi-detached house in Toronto’s east end, which failed to sell on offer night when the sellers spurned all four bids.
Mr. Little and Ms. Simon represented a buyer who came in with the highest number. Following 24 hours of negotiations, the two sides couldn’t reach a deal.
“Our buyer decided she didn’t want to be pushed that much and walked away,” says Mr. Little. “Buyers will dig their heels in.”
The house, with an asking price around the $799,000 mark, was relisted a few days later for more than $949,000. Mr. Little estimates the home should sell in the low $900,000s.
In his view, the same house a few weeks ago would have received multiple offers and sold for a substantial premium, based on the action he was seeing at that time.
He believes it’s unlikely the sellers – who paid more than $1-million for the home about five years ago – will fare better with their new asking price after four buyers came to the table.
His downsizing client resisted the pressure to overpay.
“For her, every dollar counts. You’ve got to be smart when you make these decisions.”
Agents Shane Little and Jenny Simon listed this three-bedroom semi in Toronto’s Upper Beach neighbourhood at $999,000, with offers set to be reviewed June 29.Raffi Tutundjian/Raffi Tutundjian/Jagged Lens
Mr. Little is seeing many buyers who are under no time pressure ease up on their search as the energy seeps out of the market.
“When they see offer night not hitting, they think maybe they can look in July.”
One set of clients is putting their search on pause so they can enjoy the summer. They plan to look again in the fall when fresh inventory arrives.
As buyer moods shift, Mr. Little and Ms. Simon tried a tailored strategy for a three-bedroom semi-detached house at 218 Bingham Ave. in the Upper Beaches.
A colleague had sold a larger nearby home with six offers a few days earlier. Mr. Little figured the bidders who lost out were the five most financially qualified buyers looking in that pocket at the time, so he asked his colleague to provide contact information.
“We could basically drift off that other sale that just happened.”
Buyers who have just missed out in a bidding contest are often pleased to have the opportunity to have exclusive access to a property, he says.
A few weeks ago, when bidding wars were common, launching the property on the Multiple Listing Service of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board to attract as many buyers as possible likely would have been the better tactic, he says.
But at the tail end of the spring market, buyers know that fewer new listings are likely to arrive, and are likely to respond to the opportunity.
“Getting them into something before other people creates some emotion,” he says.
He and Ms. Simon invited the five buyers to see the house and drew two offers.
The house sold for $1.57-million, which was about $50,000 above the range Mr. Little had figured they would get if they listed on the MLS in June.
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In June, some sellers are betting that getting ahead of the fall market will be a good gambit this year.
The Bank of Canada recently warned that sliding real estate prices in the Toronto area mean approximately 9 per cent of borrowers have seen their home equity diminish to the level where they may not qualify to refinance their loans in 2027 as a result.
The same dip in value may also prevent some from switching lenders.
Mr. Little says some homeowners have likely seen the report and decided to put their property on the market before a potential wave of listings from sellers under financial stress.
Victor Tran, a mortgage and real estate expert for Rates.ca, says most of his business now is concentrated on helping homeowners with a mortgage coming up for renewal to navigate the process.
Mr. Tran says it’s scary for homeowners to learn that an appraisal of the home’s value has come in below the amount they paid, but most can find a solution without being forced to sell.
Many can simply renew their loan with the same lender, though they will have fewer options when it comes to switching to a different lender in search of a deal.
“You’ll still have a mortgage – you’ll still have a home,” he says.
Those seeking to refinance in order to lower monthly mortgage payments may also be in a bind, he says.
But many people manage by cutting back on spending.
“You have to hold off on that trip to Japan.”
Mr. Tran is seeing the most troubled homeowners in regions such as Durham and York, which saw rapid appreciation during the market’s run-up and are now seeing a similar velocity on the downside.
As for preapprovals for buyers looking to purchase, Mr. Tran says that part of his business is quiet. Some first-time buyers are ready to pounce if the math makes sense, he says, but move-up buyers are more cautious after seeing the peril of homeowners who forged ahead with large purchases without doing the math during the years of runaway prices.
“Some people don’t want to enter at all, and they’re afraid they’re catching a falling knife,” he says of the current drop in prices.
At the tail end of the spring market, Mr. Little is advising most sellers who call him now to wait until fall to list if they can.
He also notes that Labour Day, which falls on Sept. 7, is later than usual this year.
He expects the majority of sellers to wait until after the holiday to list, so he is recommending that some homeowners target the last week of August in order to be on the market ahead of rival listings. Meanwhile, many buyers will have returned from vacation.
Those who list early and set an offer date for Sept. 1 may beat the competition.
“For sellers, that may be an opportunity,” he says.