May was busier than people expected. More homes sold than a year ago, fewer came up for sale, and prices held close to flat month to month. If you are a buyer, the mix of softer prices and summer timing makes this a real window. If you are a seller, fewer homes on the market means less competition for the buyers who are out there. Here is the fuller picture, and what it means for your move.

Been meaning to walk through the May numbers with you, because there is a real story in them if a move has been on your mind. Here is what last month actually looked like across the GTA, and more to the point, why this could be the year you make the move, whether you are buying or selling.

What May actually looked like

May was a busier month than a lot of people expected. Buyers came out in force, with 6,583 homes sold across the GTA, up about 6 percent from a year ago, and on a month-to-month basis sales jumped roughly 10 percent over April. At the same time, far fewer homes came up for sale, with new listings down almost 19 percent. So you had more people buying with less to choose from. That is the kind of setup that quietly puts a floor under prices, even though the average sale price, at $1,069,700, still sat about 4.6 percent below where it was a year ago. Homes that were priced right moved, and they moved at a reasonable clip, with the average property taking about 42 days to sell across the region. The index that tracks a typical home was down around 6.7 percent year over year, so the longer trend is still a touch softer, but the month itself had real energy behind it. All the figures here come from TRREB’s May Market Watch.

Why now might be your time to buy

If you or your family have been circling the idea of a move, this is a stretch that works in your favour. Prices have come off where they were a year ago, so the gap between the home you want and the payment you can carry is smaller than it has been. There are homes on the market right now you would actually be glad to call home, not just settle for. And the calendar is on your side. Summer is coming, the weather makes a move far easier than hauling boxes in January, and if you have kids, buying now gives you the runway to get settled, unpacked and into the new neighbourhood before school starts again in the fall. This is not about rushing. It is about lining the move up with the season that makes it smoothest, while conditions are friendly to a buyer.

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Why a seller would move now

Now flip it around. The quiet advantage for sellers right now is that far fewer homes are competing for attention. With new listings down almost 19 percent, a well-prepared home stands out in a way it simply cannot when the market is flooded. Buyers are active, they are just selective, and they are paying for homes priced to today rather than to last year’s peak. If your life is pointing you toward a move, this summer gives you a serious pool of motivated buyers looking to be settled before fall, and fewer neighbours competing for them. Price it for where the market actually is, present it well, and a move this season is very doable.

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Closer to home

Here is how the four markets looked in May. Read the averages as a feel for the area rather than your exact street, since a few high-end sales can pull a number up, especially in Oakville.

  • Oakville: 304 homes sold, average price about $1,559,052, and about 51 days on market
  • Burlington: 278 homes sold, average about $1,126,148, and about 42 days on market
  • Milton: 165 homes sold, average about $977,732, and about 38 days on market
  • Mississauga: 568 homes sold, average about $971,047, and about 45 days on market

To see how each market is shaped, start with the Oakville real estate guide, Mississauga, the Milton real estate guide or Burlington.

What the recession means for your move

Let’s not pretend otherwise. Everyone is feeling it right now. Gas, groceries, the cost of pretty much everything has climbed, and the recession headlines just put an official name to what people have been living at the checkout for a while. That pressure is real, and it belongs in any big decision, a home included.

Here is where it actually lands on housing though. A tighter economy is part of why prices have softened and why borrowing costs have come down from their highs, and both of those work in a buyer’s favour, not against it. If you have been waiting for some of the heat to come out of the market, this is what that looks like. For a seller, it means the days of naming any number are over. You price it to where buyers actually are, because they are watching every dollar too.

This is not a reason to rush, and it is not a reason to freeze either. The cost of living is real. So is the fact that the right move, made on your own timing and your own numbers, does not wait around for a perfect economy. That one rarely shows up.

One thing to keep in perspective

Spring is the busiest stretch of the year, every year, and a good chunk of that energy may already be behind us heading into summer. So if the spring headlines had you feeling like a window was slamming shut, you can let that go. The market does not reward scrambling. It rewards moving when your own timing is right, your work, your family, your next chapter. The numbers tell you the conditions. Your life tells you the timing.

Frequently asked questions

Is now a good time to buy? For a lot of buyers, yes. Prices are softer than a year ago and you have room to move. If the right home and the right season line up, this is a window worth using.

Should I sell this summer? If a move fits where your life is headed, the lighter competition from other listings is working for you right now. A well-priced home is still finding its buyer.

Are prices going up or down? Down modestly from a year ago, close to flat month to month. Steady, not falling off a cliff.

Want to talk through what this means for your own timeline? Reach me at tel:416.884.7925 or reach out here.