How do I tell whether a house is overpriced?
Compare it to what similar properties sold for in the last ninety days within a few blocks, adjusted for size, condition and lot. The asking price is a marketing decision and tells you nothing about value.
Value comes from sold comparables, and the tighter you can keep them the better: same property type, similar square footage, similar condition, within about three months and a short walk. Then adjust for differences you can price, which usually means finished area, parking, lot size and the age of major systems.
Watch the local list-to-sold ratio, because it tells you how the asking price is being used. In a segment where properties routinely sell fifteen percent over asking, a low list price is a bidding strategy and comparing to it will make you overpay. Where properties sell under asking, a high list price is an anchor.
Also check price history. A property relisted at a lower number after sitting has told you what the market already decided.
Answer it with your own numbers
You will need: address or neighbourhood, property type.
Pull sold comparables near an addressNext questions
What does days on market actually tell me?
It is a measure of pricing, not of quality. A property well above the local median days on market is priced above what buyers will pay, and that is negotiating leverage.
Market practice
How do bidding wars actually work in Toronto?
The property is listed below market, offers are held to a set date, and you bid blind: you are told how many competing offers there are but not what they contain. Winning usually requires no conditions, which is where the risk sits.
City of Toronto