The Toronto real estate market may finally cool following month-after-month of unseasonably frantic behaviour.

The average Toronto house price broke records in June and just kept climbing despite the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching $1,025,925 in October.

But daily COVID-19 cases in Ontario have hit record highs as well. On Saturday, the provincial government announced 1,581 new cases and the pandemic is expected to worsen. 

“We are continuing to urge our members across Ontario to stop hosting open houses,” says Ontario Real Estate Association CEO Tim Hudak. “Limit face-to-face interactions as much as possible and use virtual tools first and to the greatest extent possible.” 

If the trends continue, Ontario’s red zones could eventually face a lockdown similar to March, which brought the hot real estate market to a standstill.

But Toronto area realtors Meray Mansour and Odeen Eccleston, from Re/Max Hallmark Realty and WE Realty, respectively, don’t think real estate sales will come to a screeching halt. Rather, buying and selling will only pause. 

“In the spring, because it was so new to us, we hadn’t built up that tolerance yet,” says Mansour.

“There was so much uncertainty, people were just paralyzed with fear,” adds Eccleston. 

Both realtors feel most people will continue to conduct business as usual during the second wave, but perhaps a little more carefully. After we speak on the phone, Mansour is going to visit properties to give her client, who will stay at home, a live tour using Zoom. 

“Now we’re kind of used to it,” says Mansour. “Like ‘OK, here we go again.’”