Toronto condo sells at $320,000 loss amid condo market woes

A 37th-floor luxury condo in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district that sold for a $320,000 loss is an example of a condo market that hasn’t been this tough in decades, Realtors and observers say.

A 37th-floor luxury condo in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district that sold for a $320,000 loss is an example of a condo market that hasn’t been this tough in decades, Realtors and observers say.

The three-bedroom unit, on King Street near the site of the Toronto International Film Festival and across from Roy Thompson Hall, faced an uphill battle to be sold this week at $1.23 million – and that was after several previous attempts failed, said the listing realtor, Rebecca Romeo.

“We’re in a buyer’s market all right,” Romeo said in an interview, pointing out that many other agents in the same building faced the same headwinds, as Realtors felt pressure to up their game to make any sale at all.

Her client, she said, was happy with the deal even though it was about 21 per cent less than the $1.55 million he paid for it in 2021, as it allowed him to finally move his equity elsewhere, she said.

“The client wanted to change that chapter of his life and move on. He was happy with the sale price,” she said.

The glut of condos for sale in the Greater Toronto Area has plenty of other owners unable to sell as a combination of factors allow buyers to be choosier, even though the longer-term impact could be bad for affordability, says a recent report on GTA Condo Investment called “Challenging Times,” by Urbanation and CIBC.

While the low-rise market appears to be “in reasonable shape,” the condo market “is clearly in recessionary territory with conditions deteriorating to levels not seen in decades,” wrote CIBC’s Benjamin Tal and Urbanation’s Shaun Hildebrand.