As of May 2025, Toronto buyers had the upper hand because unsold condo inventory had reached an unprecedented level and home sales were at a 30 year low, with trade war uncertainty keeping ordinary buyers on the sidelines. Sellers who had to move were cutting $50,000 to $100,000 off their asking prices.
In April 2025, 66% of the homes that sold in Toronto went for less than their asking price, the highest share of discounted sales since 2013, and that month homes sold at 98% of list price on average. I am Moe Asgarian, a Toronto real estate broker, and in April 2025 my team and I were closing a lot of purchases and sales in exactly this market, so these are the numbers I was pricing against.
The Discounts in Toronto Were Not Small
When I talk about discounts in the Toronto market of May 2025, I do not mean $2,000 or $5,000. You look at the actual numbers from spring 2025 and you see a house, in Toronto itself, that suddenly sold $100,000 below its price, and similar homes in that same spring that sold $50,000 lower. Spend a little time checking prices in the Toronto market of spring 2025 and those discounts stop looking strange at all. In April 2025, 66% of the homes that sold went below the asking price, which was the highest share of discounted sales since 2013. On average in April 2025, homes sold at 98% of their advertised price, the largest April discount since the pandemic. The cuts were not limited to downtown condos either. Detached bungalows out in Mississauga and Aurora had six figure reductions taken off their asking prices in May 2025.
Toronto's Condo Market Is Where Sellers Felt It Most
The condo market in Toronto was where sellers were having the hardest days in May 2025. The number of apartments still sitting unsold in Toronto had reached an unprecedented level by that month. That single measure tells you who holds the power in a market. When inventory piles up like that, a buyer can take their time, which is why I say buyers in spring 2025 were in the best position they had been in for decades.
Why April 2025 Did Not Behave Like a Normal Spring
April is normally the busiest month for buying and selling in Canada, and that makes sense: the weather is improving and people move. In 2025 it landed at the same time as the trade war with the United States, and that changed the situation for everyone. What I was seeing in spring 2025 is that many buyers pulled back, while sellers started selling, wanting to get out before prices fell any further. According to RBC data, as of spring 2025 the Toronto market was tilted in the buyer's favour more than at any time since the 1990s. The number of home sales in Toronto, as of spring 2025, had fallen to its lowest level in 30 years, with the pandemic period set aside. A lot of the buyers who would normally be in the market did not want to make a large financial decision in 2025 while the trade war was unresolved.
Who Actually Gives the Discount
Here is what I want both investors and sellers to understand about the market of May 2025: not everyone can wait. For many people, buying or selling a home is not urgent, and they will simply sit out. But some have no choice, and they are the ones giving the discounts I described at the start. Picture a family that has just had a baby, needs more space, and has listed its one bedroom condo while looking for something bigger. That is the household willing to come down $50,000 so the next down payment works. Meanwhile the typical buyer in spring 2025 had good offers within reach, felt no fear of the homes selling out from under them, and was free to tour the market, put reasonable offers on several properties, and see which one came back with a better price and better terms.
If You Are Selling, Price It Where the Market Is
Let me say something direct to sellers, because this is the call I get most often. Sellers phone and ask me to price their home. Given that the market in May 2025 was heading down, or at the very least was not heading up, when we price a property we give an honest range. Say the number comes back between $1,010,000 and $1,150,000. Very often the answer is: Mr Asgarian, my neighbour sold six months ago at $1,250,000, can we try $1,250,000 first and bring the price down if it does not work? Here is the answer I give them, and it is the answer I want to give you. If you price your home above what the market will really pay in a market like this, buyers come, they see what a beautiful home it is, and they also see a price well above market. Nothing happens. They feel no urgency at all, because they tell themselves the home is sitting there, nobody will pay that, so let us look at the rest and wait for this one to correct itself down to market. Now price it correctly, or even a little below market, and the same buyer walks in and sees a very good price. That is when urgency shows up, when the buyer worries the home will be gone while they go and see four more. That is the property that sells in a week or two, while the overpriced one has been sitting for more than a month with nothing happening. The second point is that a listing gets the most attention in its first two weeks. If your price is off, you lose that window and nobody comes to see it. And if you are not genuinely a seller, in a market with as much inventory as May 2025 had, do not list for no reason. A listing that is not serious adds pressure on the real sellers and helps push the market price lower.
What Buyers and Sellers Should Do With This Market
This is the market where skill earns its money, specifically the skill of putting a real price on a home. The market does a lot of the pricing by itself, but a product still has to be priced by someone who knows it. The area matters and so does the house: the land, the construction, the state of the renovations, all of its features have to be assessed and then priced. If your agent knows this market and this neighbourhood, a seller can price correctly, not lose time, and get the maximum the property can get. In a falling market like the spring of 2025, the arithmetic is not forgiving. If you cannot sell at, say, $1,100,000 this month, next month you may have to sell at $1,050,000. And if you are a buyer, that same knowledge keeps you from being the person who puts extra money in a seller's pocket, and gets you a real discount on a home.
If you are looking for a discount or a good deal in this market, or you have found a home and want our honest opinion on it, fill out the form at the bottom of this page or book a free consultation with me and my team. Stay well and take care.
Frequently asked questions
How far below asking were Toronto homes selling in spring 2025?
In April 2025, 66% of the homes that sold went for less than the asking price, and that month the average sale came in at 98% of list price, the biggest April discount since the pandemic. Individual cuts of $50,000 and even $100,000 below asking were showing up in Toronto in April and May 2025.
Was May 2025 a buyer's market in Toronto?
Yes. According to RBC data, as of spring 2025 the Toronto market favoured buyers more than at any point since the 1990s. Home sales as of spring 2025 had fallen to their lowest level in 30 years outside the pandemic period, and the number of unsold apartments in May 2025 was at an unprecedented level.
Should I list above market value and cut the price later?
In a market like Toronto's in May 2025 that approach costs you. An overpriced listing gives buyers no urgency, so they look at it and wait for the price to come down to market. It also burns the first two weeks, when a listing gets the most attention. Pricing at or slightly below market creates urgency and can sell a home in one or two weeks.