Bidding Competition Spills Into More GTA Neighbourhoods as Spring Market Inches Forward

The GTA housing market was subdued in April, but more neighbourhoods tilted into overbidding territory as buyers vied for affordable single-family homes.

By Josh Sherman | 4 minute read

At the end of each month, digital real estate platform Wahi compares the differences between median list and sold prices to determine whether neighbourhoods are in overbidding or underbidding territory.

There were some noticeable stirrings of more widespread demand for homes in the Greater Toronto Area this April, according to the latest analysis from digital real estate platform Wahi.

Specifically, the overall share of neighbourhoods across the region in overbidding territory climbed on the shoulders of some heightened competition for single-family homes, the analysis found.

In fact, 13% of the 289 GTA neighbourhoods in which at least five homes changed hands landed in overbidding territory last month, up from 6% of the 281 neighbourhoods that met the sales minimum in March. The bulk of the remaining neighbourhoods were in underbidding territory (84%) this past April, while 2% were selling at-asking. (The percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.)

April’s market performance was identical to what was observed during the same month last year in terms of the share of neighbourhoods in overbidding and underbidding territory.

As was the case a year ago, April’s increase in overbidding was largely within the single-family home segment, which includes detached and semi-detached homes as well as row and townhouses.

For instance, looking only at single-family home sales, 21% of neighbourhoods with at least five transactions of this housing type in April stood in overbidding territory. In comparison, a mere 3% of neighbourhoods were overbid when just counting condo sales. These figures match what was recorded in April of 2025.

“The Greater Toronto Area’s typical spring market is decidedly on pause, but we are seeing pockets of persistent demand in the region,” says Wahi Economist Ryan McLaughlin. “In particular, neighbourhoods with more affordably priced single-family homes are attracting multiple-offer situations,” he continues.

Yet another way of measuring bidding activity is looking at all home sales, regardless of neighbourhood, to see how many are selling above, at, or below the list price.

In April, 23% of all homes that sold in the GTA were purchased for more than the list price, unchanged from the previous month and down from 29% a year ago. So while more neighbourhoods were in overbidding territory in April versus the previous month, the actual share of homes selling above asking was about the same month-over-month. 

Much of the region’s strongest overbidding activity this year has been found within the City of Toronto, and that remained true in April. Four out of the five top neighbourhoods for overbidding were found in central parts of the city. The sole outlier was Rouge Woods, in Richmond Hill, and also a carryover from March.

Similar to earlier in the year, more than one east-end Toronto neighbourhood entered the top five for overbidding. This follows a brief gap in March, where west-end neighbourhoods overtook neighbourhoods such as Riverdale and the Danforth.

Note that a variety of factors can influence bidding trends, from seasonality to selling strategies. For instance, in some cases, REALTORS® may be more likely to price a home below market value in hopes of attracting multiple offers.

Meanwhile, the most underbid, or buyer-friendly, neighbourhoods continued to be those with much higher prices than the region’s norm. The top underbidding neighbourhoods had median sale prices between about $2.2 million to just above $4.6 million, whereas the most overbid neighbourhoods all settled in the $1.2-1.4 million range. 

“What buyers are out there lately are tending to gravitate towards single-family homes with more attainable prices or larger family-friendly condos, but it seems that stable interest rates have not been enough to shake more buyers off of the sidelines yet,” McLaughlin notes. “Economic uncertainty likely continues to weigh on homebuyer intentions more broadly.”

Methodology: How Wahi Ranks Overbidding and Underbidding Neighbourhoods

At the end of each month, Wahi compares the differences between median list and sold prices to determine whether neighbourhoods are in overbidding or underbidding territory, excluding those neighbourhoods with fewer than five transactions in a given month. A total of 289 neighbourhoods out of the GTA’s approximately 400 met this threshold in April, up from 281 in March. Data is sourced from Information Technology Systems Ontario (ITSO) and the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

The top overbidding and underbidding neighbourhoods are ranked by the median overbid or underbid amount. The median overbid and underbid amounts are calculated by subtracting the list price from the sold price of each individual listing in a given neighbourhood. These are then ranked by the median of all subtractions and presented as the median overbid or underbid amount. For the latest data on overbidding and underbidding at any point in the month, Wahi’s Market Pulse tool provides readings based on the past 30 days of transactions.