In September, across the Greater Toronto Area, there were 204 power-of-sale listings, more than double the 96 reported in September 2023, an increase of 112% year over year and more than triple pre-pandemic levels (chart below since 2020).

See, Power-of-sale listings more than double as mortgage lenders repossess homes from over-leveraged buyers. Finally, reality is dawning for some (my bold added below):

Homeowners who bought during the pandemic when interest rates were ultralow are beginning to renew their mortgage and can’t pay the increased monthly borrowing costs, experts say. Many bought property they couldn’t afford, and are now over-leveraged, unable to pay their other mounting debt. As unemployment creeps up, experts say there’s more pain to come in the near future…

It’s worse for those who bought in the pandemic with a variable-rate mortgage as they’ve mostly paid interest and little principal off their balance sheet. As a result, they have less equity in the home. And in some parts of the GTA, home prices have fallen in value by as much as 40 per cent since the 2022 peak, meaning they bought an overvalued property.