Why Some Toronto Condos Still Sell in Under 30 Days
The Toronto condo market isn't in great shape right now. Prices have come down a fair bit since 2022, and plenty of units have been sitting on the market for months with no offers. So here's the question I keep getting: if it's this slow, how is it that some condos still sell in under 30 days?
It's not luck. When a condo moves fast in a market like this, it almost always comes down to five things. Get these right and buyers show up. Get them wrong and your unit just sits.
1. Price
Price is the first thing a buyer looks at, and right now it's the one that matters most. Buyers have a lot of options and they're in no rush. If your price isn't right, your unit doesn't even get seen. It gets filtered out before anyone walks through the door.
2. Size
Most buyers today are people who actually want to live in the place, not investors. That changes what sells. They're looking for 1+1 units above 600 square feet, and two-bedrooms above 800 square feet. Tight, boxy floor plans are a much harder sell than they were a couple of years ago.
3. Tenants
A tenanted condo is harder to sell, plain and simple. Buyers don't want to take on the hassle and the risk of having to deal with vacating the unit. If you can hand it over empty and ready to move into, you've taken a real obstacle off the table.
4. Maintenance fees
The golden number for maintenance fees is under one dollar per square foot. Go above that and the unit starts to lose its appeal, especially on smaller units where the fee eats into the monthly math that buyers are running in their heads.
5. Parking
For an investor, parking doesn't really move the needle. But for a real end-user buyer, someone buying a place to actually live in, it matters a lot. People buying to live there usually won't even consider a condo with no parking.
The bottom line
A slow market doesn't mean nothing sells. It means the well-positioned units sell and the rest wait. Price, size, vacancy, fees, parking: that's the short list. If you're thinking about selling your condo and you want a straight answer on where yours stands, reach out and let's talk it through.
Frequently asked questions
Why are some Toronto condos still selling quickly?
Because they get five fundamentals right: a realistic price, a functional size, no sitting tenant, a maintenance fee under about $1 per square foot, and parking. Those units attract today's end-user buyers; the rest sit.
What maintenance fee is considered good for a Toronto condo?
As a rule of thumb, under about $1 per square foot per month. Above that the unit loses appeal, especially smaller units where the fee weighs on the monthly budget.
Do tenanted condos sell for less?
Often yes. Buyers don't want the hassle and risk of vacating a unit, so a tenant-occupied condo usually sells slower and for less than a vacant, move-in-ready one.