As sales continue to slow in Canada’s property markets, the hottest spots in the greater Toronto (GTA) and Vancouver areas are, so far, still considered ‘sellers’ markets’ even as some 28% of the GTA’s listed properties are now sitting vacant– a 17% year-over-year increase in vacant homes for sale.
Reasons for the mounting unsold inventory include higher interest rates and the foreign buyers’ tax, but also households that are tapped out on debt-to-income ratios, and asking prices that are too high.
In general, sellers are evidently not yet willing to admit that the world-infamous Canadian realty bubble is finally deflating. Notional gains are now eroding, and for those who overpaid in the boom and need to sell, the capital losses will be hard to take. See More than a quarter of the homes for sale in Toronto are empty:
“there are a fair number of stubborn sellers holding out for an unrealistic price for their home, though they’ve already moved on to another home or downsized.
…many sellers are still expecting to see the kind of price increase and frantic action we saw back in 2017. The reasons for holding out could be an unrealistic or unreasonable expectation or it could be because these sellers are too financially tied to the property. If many home flippers accepted today’s market prices, they would experience a significant financial loss after considering any rehab and construction costs incurred after purchasing properties in 2017 prices.
;
