Larry Weltman; Larry Weltman

It has been 16 months of caution for Canada. As of August 9, Americans were once again allowed to cross the border – vaccinated Americans. Then, on September 7, visitors from other countries will be permitted, according to Reuters reporting. It is marked progress for a country that was once in the throes of a tremendous fight against the pandemic.

This long awaited reunion is contingent upon case numbers staying low.

“Thanks to the rising vaccination rates and declining COVID-19 cases, we are able to move forward with adjusted border measures,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference in Brampton, Ontario.The easing of Canada’s border restrictions and the relaunch of Airbnb in the Great White North could revitalize tourism, immigration and bolster Canada’s real estate market, according to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREB) President Kevin Crigger. This expectation has likely bolstered second quarter 2021 Greater Toronto Area (GTA) condominium apartment sales.

The easing of Canada’s border restrictions and the relaunch of Airbnb in the Great White North could revitalize tourism, immigration and bolster Canada’s real estate market, according to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREB) President Kevin Crigger. This expectation has likely bolstered second quarter 2021 Greater Toronto Area (GTA) condominium apartment sales.

“Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 8,793 condominium apartment sales in the GTA in Q2 2021 – up by 155 per cent compared to Q2 2020, but down by approximately six per cent compared to Q1 2021, following the broad-based slowdown in home sales since March,” according to a TREB press release.

Buyer competition also accelerated for condos, resulting in year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter average price increases.

Nearly 8,800 condominium units were sold in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) during Q2 2021 according to GTA REALTORS – a 155% increase compared to Q2 2020, but is still down around six percent from Q1 2021, after the slowdown since March, according to the release.

“There is no doubt that the condominium apartment segment has improved markedly over the past six months, after lagging the low-rise market segments in the second half of 2020. Consumer polling conducted by Ipsos for TRREB suggested that about 40% of buyers in 2021 would be first-time buyers. For many first-time buyers, their entry point into homeownership is the condo market so we expect further upward movement this year with accelerated migration back to cities and heightened immigration,” said Crigger.

The average condo apartment selling price was up by 10.8% year-over-year in Q2 2021 to $686,312. This also represented more than a six percent increase compared to Q1 2021. In the City of Toronto, which accounted for close to 70% of Q2 condo transactions, the average selling price was $721,109 – a nine percent increase compared to Q2 2020.

“The second quarter marked a turnaround for the condo market in terms of price growth. Whereas other market segments experienced a resurgence in price growth in the latter half of 2020, the condo market took longer to recover. Looking forward to 2022, condo demand could very well strengthen as immigration picks up and younger people, more impacted by COVID-19, look to purchase a home,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.