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<\/a>Photo:\u00a0Vinoth Ragunathan<\/a>\u00a0\/ Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nToronto condo listings have been surging since the summer. This, combined with a shift in buyer preferences away from high-rise living and a slower pace of sales and price growth relative to single-family homes, has introduced more uncertainty to the market than end-user buyers and investors are accustomed to.<\/p>\n
In its third-quarter condominium report<\/a> for 2020, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) noted that the 17,613 new condos listed during the third quarter amounted to an 84.6 percent increase over the same period last year. At the end of the quarter, active listings had doubled in contrast to 2019 levels. While condo sales were robust compared to a year ago, they were still significantly outpaced by new listings.<\/p>\n\n But, even amidst this change in condo market dynamics, some realty professionals say that purchasing pre-construction condos in Toronto is still a lucrative opportunity despite the potential challenges presented by the pandemic. Simon S. Mass, CEO of The Condo Store<\/a>, explains that Toronto\u2019s pre-construction market remains resilient alongside high activity levels and positive market reports.<\/p>\n \u201cThe past three months in Toronto\u2019s pre-construction market has been an extremely busy and hectic one,\u201d said Mass. \u201cThe exact opposite of what may seem the norm has been taking place as developers have been on a major accelerated drive to bring a series of master-planned and stand-alone projects to market with great success.\u201d<\/p>\n While headlines have focused on blistering activity in the single-family home market segment, new condo sales have logged impressive gains compared to a year ago. In September, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) recorded a 15 percent annual increase<\/a> in sales for new condo apartments.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s relatively adept handling of its COVID-19 pandemic response has demonstrated Toronto real estate\u2019s value proposition to potential investors, a city that is a \u201creal estate volatility free-zone,\u201d Mass said. Even with the difficulties of COVID-19, coupled with new rules around short-term rentals that have impacted the city\u2019s rental market, purpose-built apartment vacancy rates<\/a> remain relatively low at around two percent, one point higher than their pre-COVID levels.<\/p>\n<\/a>Photo:\u00a0Lucas George Wendt<\/a>\u00a0\/ Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n