A buyer’s market is what you get when there are more homes for sale than there are buyers to buy them. Supply outweighs demand, so buyers hold the leverage: they can take their time, negotiate hard, and walk away. Homes take longer to sell and often go for less than asking.

That’s the market most Toronto sellers have been working in throughout the last few years. It’s been tightening lately (our July stats update is literally called “Sellers Strike Back”), but buyers still have plenty to choose from, and that’s exactly why preparation matters so much right now. This post is about winning in that kind of market, where you don’t get the benefit of the doubt.

We recently watched two nearly identical condos in the same Liberty Village building list within a couple of weeks of each other. One sold in 11 days at asking. The other is still for sale. Same layout, same floor, similar price. The difference was preparation: one seller spent three weeks getting ready, the other assumed listing it on the MLS was enough.

When buyers have options, “good enough” doesn’t sell. Here’s what to do before your home hits the market.

Why Preparation Matters More Right Now

Buyers have choices, and they know it. The average GTA home sold for $1,003,956 in July 2026, down 4.5% from a year earlier, and while new listings have pulled back, buyers are still taking their time and comparing carefully.

This isn’t 2021, when you could list on a Tuesday and pick from a dozen offers on Sunday. Today’s buyer will skip a home that needs work and book the next one instead. Sellers who put in the prep get the showings and the offers. Sellers who don’t tend to sit and watch their days on market climb.

Repairs: What’s Worth It (and What Isn’t)

Most big renovations done right before selling don’t pay for themselves. In a buyer’s market, buyers are pickier and tend to price in their personal preferences into their offers. Don’t spend real money guessing at the preferences of someone you haven’t even met.

What pays off is fixing the small things that make a home look neglected. A dripping faucet, a switch that doesn’t work, cracked grout, scuffed walls, a sticky door. Buyers don’t see a quick fix. They wonder what else you’ve let slide.

Worth doing:

Fresh neutral paint (one of the highest-return dollars you can spend)
A deep clean and declutter
Fixing the obvious deficiencies
Curb appeal and basic landscaping
New hardware and light fixtures

Skip it:

Kitchen renovations
Full bathroom overhauls
New flooring throughout
Finishing the basement
Anything structural

Don’t Rely on Staging Alone

Staging works. The National Association of Realtors’ 2025 Home Staging Report found 49% of sellers’ agents say staging helps a home sell faster, and 19% say it lifts offers by 1% to 5%. But staging is the last step, not the whole plan. It works best after you’ve decluttered and completed the repairs, and when paired with professional photos. A beautifully staged home shot on a phone at a bad angle still gets scrolled past.

Pro Tip: The BREL team includes staging with our listings. We built our own staging warehouse because we kept seeing what good staging does to results.

Your Listing Photos Do the First Showing

Most buyers decide how they feel about your home on their phone, before they ever book a showing. That makes professional photography non-negotiable, and no, your agent’s smartphone doesn’t count. Proper lighting, wide angles, and editing are what get your listing clicked in the first place.

The same goes for floor plans and listing copy. Buyers do their homework now: they read the status certificate, check MPAC, discuss it with ChatGPT and ask about noise before they show up. Give them reasons to walk in already interested.

What Buyers Notice Now

In 2021, buyers moved too fast to notice much. Today they’re patient and thorough.

A few things they pay attention to that they used to overlook:

Smells. Pet odours and smoke are deal-breakers, not bargaining points.
Noise. If a bedroom backs onto an elevator shaft, they’ll stand there and listen.
Signs of moisture. Any staining on a ceiling, wall, or window raises a question.
The building. Reserve fund health, management, and upcoming special assessments matter more than they used to.

Give Yourself a Head Start

The best-prepared listings we handle start weeks (and sometimes months) before the target list date. A rushed launch, where the painters finish Thursday and you go live Monday, leaves no time to fix what the photos reveal or swap a staging piece that didn’t work. A little runway lets you catch problems before buyers do.

A simple pre-list checklist:

Repairs and touch-up paint done
Deep clean, including inside appliances, windows, and closets
Decluttered, personal items packed away
Staging finished before photo day
Professional photos and floor plans complete

The sellers who skip the runway are usually the ones calling us three weeks in, wondering why the offers haven’t come. One reminder before you price: the GTA is a patchwork of micro-markets, and a detached in Etobicoke doesn’t behave like a condo at Yonge and Bloor. Talk to your agent about your specific neighbourhood and property type.

The BREL Bottom Line

The market has shifted over the last few years, but that’s manageable if you go in prepared. The homes selling right now aren’t always the nicest units in the building or the best houses on the street. They’re the best-prepared, best-priced, and best-presented ones, and all three are within your control. Do the work before you list, and pay attention to the feedback once you’re live.

Thinking about selling and not sure where to start? That’s what we’re here for. Get in touch with the BREL team.

How to Prep Your Home for Sale in a Buyer’s Market