Why some homes sit and others get 15 offers

A semi on Indian Grove in High Park listed at $1,699,999 with 13 offers while I’m writing this. 

Meanwhile, a nearly identical condo, better floor, includes parking, is sitting at $175K more, untouched. Same city, same week, completely different outcomes. If March showed us anything, it’s that the gap between “sitting” and “selling” has never been wider. And it has very little to do with the market itself.

There’s a lot of noise in the market right now. March didn’t exactly clear it up.

March gave us 1,913 sales and 5,301 active listings, with an average of 46 days on market and an average price of $1,022,874. That puts us in balanced, leaning buyer territory.

But there’s something shifting under the surface.

New listings were down 16% compared to last March. That’s three months in a row of declining supply. Inventory is quietly shrinking. If you read our January newsletter, you might remember the question: who’s actually going to sell this year? And if fewer people do, how much room do prices really have to fall?

Year over year, prices are still down. Detached homes are down 6.4%, semis down 8%, and condos taking the biggest hit at 10%. But not every part of the market is behaving the same.

The example of the semi I mentioned with 13 offers in High Park? That’s not a soft market.

In W01 (High Park, Roncesvalles, South Parkdale), there were 23 sales in March. Of those, 16 sold at or above asking, and 10 sold for 5% or more over asking. That means real competition.

In the east end (Riverdale and the Beaches) saw 44 sales with an average price of $1,672,043 and just 13 days on market. Out of those 44, 29 sold at or above asking, and 14 went more than 20% over. Buyers still had to compete.

Condos are a different story, but even there, it’s not as simple as “slow market.”

We sold two condos last week. With both of these, we had accepted offers in less than a week.

So what made the difference? Very accurate pricing and great presentation.

The biggest issue I’m seeing right now is sellers hoping someone will cover their loss. That’s not how this market works.

One of our sales, currently conditional, had a nearly identical unit in the building. That one was on a higher floor and had parking, and they were asking $175,000 more than us. Yes, those features add value. Not $175,000 worth. That unit is going to sit.

They also didn’t stage it or invest in presentation.

When I see that, I always wonder: is the client setting the price and the agent is afraid to push back? Or does someone genuinely believe a buyer will ignore recent comparable sales and overpay just so the seller can break even? That’s not happening.

The challenge is knowing which signals matter. Headlines say one thing, your neighbour says another, and then you see a house get 13 offers. If you’re trying to make sense of it, you have to zoom in.

Look at your situation. Your building, if it’s a condo. Your street, if it’s a house. Look at what places are selling for, not what they’re listed at.

And then be honest about what it takes to sell. If the pricing is off, the presentation isn’t there, and the home isn’t positioned properly, it’s going to be tough.

And by the way, Indian Grove now has 15 offers. Same market, just different execution.