Underbidding in the Greater Toronto Area’s (GTA) housing market is nearing the highest level since Wahi began comparing the differences between monthly list and sale prices for homes across the region in July 2022.
In June, 93 per cent of GTA neighbourhoods with at least five home sales were in underbidding territory, compared to 87 per cent in May and 71 per cent during the same month last year. An additional 5 per cent of neighbourhoods were overbid, while 2 per cent were selling at asking, according to the latest Market Pulse report from Wahi, a Canadian real estate listing website.
June’s share of underbidding neighbourhoods is the second-highest on record, matching levels reached in December 2024 and November 2023. Underbidding set a new watermark in January 2024 and December 2023, when 98 per cent of neighbourhoods were seeing home prices bid down. Note that seasonality influences bidding trends, as there’s generally less homebuying activity in the summer and winter months.
While underbidding activity remained elevated in June, Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen notes that buyer competition varies by property type and location, and bidding dynamics often come down to individual listing attributes. “When a neighbourhood is in underbidding territory, it doesn’t mean that every property is selling for less than asking or that sellers are taking huge losses,” he says. “It’s a general indicator of market behaviour.”
Though the GTA-wide median amount by which home prices were bid down has been rising in recent months, it was $22,450 in June, roughly in line with what was observed the last time underbidding was so widespread at the neighbourhood level, in December 2024.
Once again, bidding competition in the condo segment was considerably softer than what was observed for single-family homes, which include detached and semi-detached houses, as well as row and freehold townhomes. Some 95 per cent of GTA neighbourhoods with at least five condo sales were underbid in June, compared to 86 per cent when looking at single-family homes only.
7 in 10 GTA Homes Selling Below Asking
The share of neighbourhoods in underbidding territory only tells part of the story. Wahi also looks at what percentage of all homes across the GTA are selling for below asking each month. In June, 71 per cent of homes sold for less than the list price, compared to 68 per cent in May, with the remainder selling above or at asking.
Here, too, there was a significant discrepancy between condos and single-family homes. Last month, 79 per cent of GTA condos changed hands for under asking, while the same was true of 67 per cent of single-family homes. In May, underbid sales represented 78 per cent of all transactions in the condo segment and 64 per cent of single-family home deals.
Competition Strongest in Durham, City of Toronto
Of the five major markets that make up the GTA (the City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, Peel, and York), Durham was the most competitive. There, 36 per cent of homes that sold in June achieved a price at or above listing, followed by the City of Toronto at 32 per cent.
On the flip side, homes were most likely to sell below asking in Halton (80 per cent), Peel (75 per cent), and York (74 per cent).
There were no repeats on the latest monthly top five of the GTA’s top underbidding neighbourhoods, which are ranked by the median underbid amount. However, similar to May, these neighbourhoods tended to have higher price points.
Just 14 neighbourhoods were in overbidding territory across the GTA in June. Among these, Riverdale was the lone carryover from May’s top five, although the east Toronto neighbourhood dropped to second place, replaced by Rouge Woods in Richmond Hill.