The Toronto housing market is closing 2020 in a way that feels well-suited to the year: some highs, some lows, and not a whole lot of clarity on what’s to come.

According to the newest report from RBC, the entire country saw strength in its housing market throughout November, except for in one area — downtown condos in large urban areas.

It’s easy to imagine, then, that the City of Toronto’s data presents as a combination of “on fire” and “flailing.”

Despite the return to lockdown-status in Toronto and Peel region, the month saw GTA resales rise 24.3% year-over-year, with the MLS Home Price Index (HPI) up 10.6% during the same period.

The 416-region specifically is described as “both hot and lukewarm,” with sales of single-family homes up 24% year-over-year, while condos sales were “flat.”

READ: Year-Over-Year Condo Prices in Toronto Decline for the First Time Since April

But the real difference, RBC says, is inventories. Active detached-home listings are sitting some 13% below year-ago levels. Meanwhile, condo listings have skyrocketed 194%. As the report concludes, it’s “no wonder downtown Toronto condo prices are beginning to soften.”

Indeed, TRREB’s November market report, released Thursday, captured the small drop in the average condominium apartment selling price for the ‘416’ area code. Since the onset of the pandemic in March, April is the only other month to have seen a decline in year-over-year condo prices (-4.0%) in the 416 (though October only managed a gain of less than 1%).

Continue to read on: Toronto Storeys