Condo sales in Toronto reached a record high for March, with buyers snapping up almost 2,500 new units last month, a figure that more than doubles sales a year ago. This comes, of course, as worry mounts that the local condo market is overdue for a correction -- or worse, a crash. Development continues apace, sparking concern over rising numbers of units that have yet to be sold, but the drop in prices that's been predicted for years has yet to come to fruition.
According to RealNet, the Terminator-sounding research firm behind these numbers, condo prices remained mostly consistent from February to March, with a benchmark price of $436,898. Every real estate expert in the city has a theory on what will or won't lead to a correction, though most agree that there's legitimate concern Toronto's condo supply will outweigh demand. Just how great the gap will be is, however, cause for significant debate.
Some hypothesize that vacancy rates won't reach high enough levels to correct the market. Others predict that overbuilding might be tempered by a greater openness to high density living in a city with a housing market that's daunting to first time buyers looking for a traditional home. For now, the market continues to boom.