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Toronto condo prices might hit a ceiling soon.

When Toronto’s market began correcting in 2017, it appeared someone forgot to tell the condo market. Sales and prices soldiered on upwards, while the low-rise market languished — but the soaring performance of the high-rise segment could be winding down, suggests realtor John Pasalis.

Pasalis, whose research work has been cited by the Bank of Canada, outlines what he says is behind slackening sales, which are down nominally for the first five months of this year when compared to the same period in 2018.

“What’s the cause of this cooling in demand for condos? High prices,” writes Pasalis, also the president of the Toronto-based Realosophy brokerage, in a blog post.

“More specifically, the fact that condo prices have been rising while low-rise prices have been trending down — condos are starting to look a bit expensive relative to detached and semi-detached houses,” he explains.

According to May home sales data from the Toronto Real Estate Board, the average price of condo apartment is $590,876 compared to $1,042,218 for a detached home. While the difference in price is no small amount, it’s less pronounced than it was at the height of the market, Pasalis notes.

The Toronto housing market peaked in March 2017, and when it did, the gap between condo prices and detached home prices was a lofty $700,000. As of May, the price gap narrowed to $450,000, according to Pasalis’ calculations.

Over that two-plus-year period, condo-apartment prices increased 14 percent, while row house and condo townhouse values are approximately flat.

The new-condo segment is already seeing more muted gains. In April, the average asking price for an available new condo was $758,585, an increase of 2.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the Building Industry and Land Development Association.

So what’s the upshot of all this?

“The supply for condos is still relatively tight which is keeping prices up, but if we continue to see a cooling in the demand for condos, we may see condo prices hit a plateau,” Pasalis concludes.

For now, listings remain down from a year ago. At the end of May, there were 3,806 condos listed on the market in the GTA, down from 3,993 in May 2018.

No matter where you live, a low-rise home on a quiet suburban street or in the heart of downtown in a 40-storey tower, it’s always important to be respectful of your neighbours. With that in mind, we want to share a list of a few things you should never do when you live in a condo.

If you already live in a condo, you probably know someone in your building that does at least one or all of the faux pas on this list. If you do any of them, stop it. If you plan on moving into a condo for the first time, keep these things in mind so you can live in peace among your neighbours.

1) NEVER flick cigarettes off your balcony

It’s annoying enough to see people flicking cigarette butts on the street, don’t do it off your balcony or out a window. If you must smoke, use an ashtray and either bring the ashtray inside or cover it so the wind doesn’t blows the ashes and butts off your balcony. Throwing cigarettes on the ground or on someone else’s property is littering and it can also be dangerous. Cigarettes that are still burning can melt plastic or start fires.

2) NEVER leave bags in the garbage chute room

In most condos, each floor has a small room where you access the garbage chute. New condos have a sorter so you can dump compost, garbage, and recyclables. Occasionally, the chute will be out of service, and what a lot of people do is just leave the stinky garbage in the room and walk away like it’s not their issue anymore. If the chute is not operational, just take your garbage back to your unit and drop it off later! If everyone’s garbage piles up, it gets disgusting.

3) NEVER be too loud after 11 pm

Most condos have their own set of rules, but generally, any noise after 11 pm is unacceptable. It’s the same as on low-rise residential streets. In most new condos, the soundproofing is excellent, but people have the ability to get pretty loud, whether they’re blasting music or hosting a party with a lot of people.

4) NEVER store possessions in the hall or in your parking space

There are a few reasons you should never store your possessions in common areas; your clutter doesn’t look good in any setting, things could get stolen or damaged, and it could be a safety hazard. Generally, your stuff shouldn’t affect other people’s daily lives.

5) NEVER open the door for strangers

You may feel rude doing this, but letting people into the building that you don’t know or haven’t seen before can also be a safety issue. Condos are private residences, so if the person entering doesn’t live there and isn’t visiting someone, what are they doing? If the condo has a concierge, then this is their responsibility. If not, you should politely ask visitors to buzz in, and if they are in fact visiting someone, then that resident will let them into the building.

6) NEVER takeover an elevator

Some condos only have two or three elevators. If you take one to move a series of items in or out of your unit, then that throws off all the other elevators. You should always reserve the service elevator if you know you’re going to need it. Don’t inconvenience your neighbours with your selfishness!

Overall, you should just be respectful when you live in a condo or anywhere else for that matter. If anything you’re going to do affects someone else negatively, then just don’t do it. Be cool, and live in harmony with your fellow condo dwellers!