Condo Prices Are Falling: Here's How to Score a Deal

After years of low interest rates and frenzied demand from investors and buyers, condo sales are treading water in Canada’s largest metros.

In Toronto and Vancouver, condo sales plummeted 75% and 37%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2025 from their peak in mid-2022, according to a report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Over the same period, condo prices sank 13.4% in Toronto and 2.7% in Vancouver after rising by nearly 20% in both areas from 2020 to 2022, CMHC reported.

Nationally, the benchmark apartment (condo) price for resales fell to $492,500 in May 2025, down more than 12% from their March 2022 peak of $561,500, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

Drivers behind this downward trend include excess inventory, higher interest rates and sluggish demand. Buyers who’ve been sidelined from the housing market for years can finally take advantage of lower prices and more options.

How condo buyers can score a better deal while protecting their investment

While the numbers don’t favour sellers, prospective condo buyers in major metros finally have something they haven’t had in a long time: leverage.

“The buyers hold the cards,” says Tom Storey, a sales representative with Royal LePage Signature Realty in Toronto. “There are more listings than there are active buyers, so there is negotiating power. If you have a price you’re willing to pay for something and the seller’s not open to it, you probably have five other options you can go to next.”

If you’re in the market to buy a resale condo, Storey recommends following these tips:

1. Negotiate a lower sales price. Though many units are already at a discount, there may still be wiggle room to negotiate on price if comparable market data supports a lower offer. However, you’re more likely to get better deals on studios and one-bedroom units than two-bedrooms, so be realistic, Storey says.

2. Ask for inspection-related repairs. In a hot seller’s market, there’s little chance of getting a seller to wait on an inspection, much less agree to pay for repairs. But now that buyers have the upper hand, get an inspection and ask the seller to make repairs or provide credits in your purchase offer.

3. Check the health of the building’s finances. Get a copy of the unit’s status certificate, which typically includes a copy of the condo corporation’s rules and bylaws, its financials (including reserve funds), building fees and information about pending lawsuits and special assessments.

Have your real estate attorney dig deep into the status certificate so you know what you’re getting into. Unforeseen issues might include lawsuits concerning building safety or quality, questionable condo fees or insurance premium increases, and other potential red flags, Storey says.

4. Avoid investor-heavy buildings. Storey advises buyers to stick to mostly owner-occupied condo buildings rather than those where investors own the lion’s share of units. In the latter, there’s much higher risk of tenant turnover and rental wear and tear, especially on common areas.

How the condo market got here

Housing experts point out that there are two distinct condo markets at play: new construction and existing resales.

After COVID-19, builders and developers constructed many new condo developments to cash in on pent-up buyer demand and investor interest amid ultra-low interest rates.

But since 2022, the pendulum has swung hard in the opposite direction. Buyer interest shifted toward single-family homes while interest rates and building costs soared, turning off investors, Kevin Lee, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA), said in an email. Additionally, the federal government reduced new permanent resident targets for 2025 and 2026.

Combined, these factors created a perfect storm leading to lower demand and condo sales across both segments, with pre-construction activity taking the brunt of the beating, Lee says. As a result, new condo developments have come to a screeching halt in major cities.

However, all real estate is local, so the condo market crisis in Toronto and Vancouver isn’t being felt everywhere. In more affordable areas like Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Edmonton, Alberta, there’s been strong growth in condo sales and more gradual price increases.