Mississauga home prices stabilizing amid COVID-19 pandemic

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Published April 5, 2020 at 6:42 pm

citycentrecondoswinter

While the GTA housing market is (at this point at least) expected to recover once the COVID-19 crisis ends, there’s no doubt that the pandemic is having an impact on sales in the short-term. 

While the market was still red hot between March 13 and 23, houses in Mississauga began selling for closer to asking price between March 23 and March 31–an expected adjustment given the pressure on everyone to stay home to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. 

Nik Oberoi, a Mississauga-based sales representative with Cloud Realty, says that 46 homes changed hands in the city between March 23 and 31. The average list price was $1,200,000, but homes sold for an average price of $1,194,669, which suggests that bidding wars are dying down and that competition for homes has petered out.  

The story was a little different in the condo market, but not much. According to Oberoi, 45 units sold between March 23 and 31. The average listing price was $549,000, while the average selling price hit $551,000. 

Oberoi says that, surprisingly, a luxury property sold for $12 million late last month. 

Interestingly enough, condo sales are up (least for now). From February to March, 314 condo sales were reported in Mississauga. From March to April, 355 condos changed hands. 

As far as house sales go, Oberoi says 400 homes sold in February and March. From March to April, 362 homes were listed. 

Oberoi says that listing suspensions appear to be on the rise in the low-rise market, as 240 listings were suspended or terminated in March. Only 116 listings were terminated in February. Even less–108–were terminated in January. 

As far as condos go, 166 listings were terminated in March–a big increase from 62 suspensions in February and 60 in January. 

Oberoi says that, despite the current downturn in the market, most experts expect the industry to bounce back. 

“It’s interesting to see the suspended listings, but when I talk to people in the industry, they’ve been optimistic about where this is headed,” he said, adding that industry insiders are expecting challenges to peak in the second and third quarters of 2020.

“By next year, we should be able to where we’re at.”

Oberoi says the housing market is unique in the sense that people will always need a place to live. He also says that while now might not be a good time to make a short-term investment in a home, it’s fine to follow-through on a purchase (while respecting all physical distancing guidelines) that you can plan to keep for years to come.  

“If people have a long-term investment in mind, they should be fine,” he says.  

“Nobody will lose value unless they’re looking to sell over a short period of time. I expect the sales to slow drastically between now and next month. Right now, we’re seeing 40 to 50 sales a week because some people are taking advantage of the fact that there’s less competition right now. I expect that will be cut in half,” he said. 

Oberoi also says the province’s move to pause non-essential construction–including on residential developments–could help slow the market further. 

”I think if the COVID-19 pandemic dies down, our market will be fine. We might see a dip, which will then lead to a balanced market and a move back to where we were. This is all assuming COVID-19 stops here and in the U.S. We’ll have to keep an eye on everything.” 

Cover photo courtesy of @idris.yyz

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