{"id":234634,"date":"2025-10-23T14:48:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T14:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/234634\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T14:48:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T14:48:16","slug":"investors-flee-toronto-condos-as-market-shifts-to-1st-time-homebuyers-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/234634\/","title":{"rendered":"Investors flee Toronto condos as market shifts to 1st-time homebuyers: report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toronto\u2019s condo market<\/a> is undergoing a major transformation, and investors are heading for the exit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As prices cool and mortgage costs remain high, many condo investors are now selling off properties they once hoped to flip for profit \u2014 and in some cases, at a loss.<\/p>\n

In their place, for the first time in recent years, new homebuyers<\/a> are finally finding an opening into the market to purchase practical first homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe housing market<\/a> is a lot slower than what it used to be,\u201d said Victor Tran, mortgage and real estate expert at Rates.ca. \u201cSales volume has decreased significantly\u2026 particularly in the condo market segment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Condos, once seen as a guaranteed investment vehicle, are no longer delivering the returns many investors had banked on, cited as an \u201cextremely challenging\u201d investment now.<\/p>\n

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With average prices sitting around $655,000 and borrowing rates in the 3.9-4.3 per cent range, rental income often doesn\u2019t cover the full carrying costs, especially when factoring in condo fees, property taxes, insurance, and utilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all those costs lumped in together, it\u2019s going to be more than what an investor can charge for rent,\u201d Tran told Global News. \u201cIt\u2019s unlikely that the investor will be able to walk away with a positive cash flow every month.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Some investors who bought during the market peak in 2021 and 2022, when bidding wars were common and mortgage rates were below 2 per cent, are now listing properties for less than they paid.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey bought at the peak, thinking prices would keep going up,\u201d said Tran. \u201cNow they\u2019re cutting their losses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just doesn\u2019t make sense for them to look into real estate right now, especially with the uncertain times that we\u2019re living in with the trade war and increasing unemployment as well too,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The drop-in investor activity is reshaping the market, according to a report released by Rates.com<\/p>\n

As listings increase and competition cools, the balance of power has shifted to buyers, particularly first-time buyers who were previously priced out.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor young buyers who can qualify, the market makes condo ownership more attainable than it\u2019s been in years,\u201d Tran explained.<\/p>\n

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A buyer putting 15 per cent down on a $655,000 condo today would be looking at mortgage payments of roughly $2,900 per month, similar to average rent for a two-bedroom unit in the GTA. \u201cLower purchase prices mean smaller down payments and more flexibility in how buyers structure their mortgage,\u201d added Tran.<\/p>\n

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The contrast between today\u2019s market and the boom years is stark. With more listings available, buyers are no longer pressured to make unconditional offers or enter bidding wars.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a buyer\u2019s market in many segments,\u201d Tran said. \u201cBuyers have more negotiating power\u2026 and they can also make offers with conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those include financing clauses and home inspections, protections that were often waived when competition was fierce.<\/p>\n

However, Tran still advises new buyers to focus on resale condos, rather than pre-construction units, which are facing delays, rising costs, and uncertainty.<\/p>\n

In terms of mortgage payments, Tran says both parties will be equally hit. \u201cThe hot topic that a lot of people have been talking about are mortgage renewals,\u201d Tran said.<\/p>\n

While first-time buyers have more breathing room, the overall affordability picture remains bleak. And with many homeowners approaching mortgage renewals, some will face payments two to three times higher than their original terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a record number of Canadians coming up for mortgage renewals this year and next,\u201d Tran said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey will be renewing into rates that are easily double or triple.\u201d<\/p>\n

That pressure, combined with reduced investor demand, is expected to keep supply high, at least in the short term.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toronto\u2019s condo market is undergoing a major transformation, and investors are heading for the exit. As prices cool…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48,8796,1849,46,100596,11196,44,3302],"class_list":{"0":"post-234634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-condo-market","12":"tag-consumer","13":"tag-economy","14":"tag-homebuyers","15":"tag-housing-market","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-toronto"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}