Members of Toronto's real estate world are anticipating sales and prices to pick up in the second part of 2024 after last year's high interest rates made would-be buyers reluctant, or even financially unable, to take a leap.

One signal that these predictions for the rest of the year are indeed true is the fact that bidding wars have returned to the city, with nearly half of neighbourhoods in and around T.O. now considered "in bidding war territory" according to local real estate agency Wahi.

A new report from the firm this week says that the trend of offering more than the asking price to secure a given property is escalating rapidly so far this year, especially for townhomes, semi-detached and detached houses.

According to Wahi's data for March, 43 per cent of GTA communities are now areas where overbidding is considered the norm, compared to just 25 per cent in February, and zero in January.

For non-condo homes, this figure is a much higher 61 per cent.

Bidding wars are becoming more common in the GTA again, with 43 per cent of neighbourhoods in overbidding territory as of March. Graph from Wahi.

"We're beginning to see more homebuyers step off the sidelines, resulting in more bidding competition in a growing number of neighbourhoods," the report reads.

The phenomenon is worst in Cachet, Markham, where the average home price is now over an outrageous $2 million; Jefferson, Richmond Hill, where the typical house is $1.8 million; Victoria Square, Markham, with an average price of $1.8 million; Rouge Woods, Richmond Hill (also $1.8 million, on average); and Wismer, Markham ($1.3 million).

While the cities of Markham and Richmond Hill dominated the overbidding list, surprisingly, two Toronto locales topped the list for most-underbid areas in the region: Princess Rosethorn, Etobicoke with an average price of $1.9 million, and The Annex ($1.86 million).

Rounding out the five biggest underbidding communities were King, King (with a mean price of $2.1 million); Tyendaga, Burlington ($1.84 million) and Eastlake, Oakville (where a home will run you around a whopping $2.7 million).

Bidding wars have returned as the GTA's housing market heats back up https://t.co/bduvUF8S5s

— blogTO (@blogTO) March 6, 2024

Wahi's experts add that condos continue to be the best deals regardless of neighbourhood, with just 14 per cent of neighbourhoods considered in overbidding territory for the housing type specifically last month.

"The condo market may be facing some pricing pressure from new-build condos entering the resale market via assignment sales. As higher interest rates have taken their toll, many units purchased two-to-three years ago are now hitting the market at discounts from the original purchase prices," they write.