Canada’s condo supply is surging — and it’s not just in Toronto

Re/Max Canada said in its national condo outlook released Wednesday that listings in this segment of the market have 'soared' in recent months, opening a door to first-time buyers.

Hopeful Canadian homebuyers may well have their pick of the litter when it comes to condos in many housing markets across the country, a new report from Re/Max Canada shows.

The national brokerage said in its national condo outlook released Wednesday that listings in this segment of the market have “soared” in recent months.

A glut of condos in Toronto — now sitting around seven months’ worth of inventory — has been well documented over the summer.

While Re/Max noted that Toronto’s condo listings were up 52.8 per cent year-over-year as of August, the city isn’t alone. B.C.’s Fraser Valley led the way with a 58.7-per cent increase over the same period, with Calgary’s inventory up 52.4 per cent and Ottawa’s rising 44.5 per cent.

The other cities included in the report, Edmonton, Halifax and Vancouver, saw annual gains between 7.3 and 17.7 per cent.

Re/Max argued that condo sellers have been hitting the market in hopes that buyer demand will return towards the final months of the year, thanks in part to expectations for more interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada.

Housing affordability has seen marginal improvement in some markets this year as mortgage rates decline but home prices hold steady or fall amid slower-than-typical sales activity.

The condo market is particularly worth highlighting for first-time and sidelined homebuyers as Re/Max noted it’s not only a “first step” home ownership, but increasingly the “middle step” as well in Canada’s most expensive housing markets.