Toronto Buyers Can Stop Writing Love Letters, The Market Already Did the Work
Jarrod Armstrong asked his Toronto clients to write a personal letter to the seller when they made an offer last month. They looked at him like he'd suggested bringing flowers to a mortgage underwriter.
The reaction tells you something about how far the market has shifted. Between 2020 and early 2024, those letters, handwritten appeals explaining where the kids would sleep, promises not to tear down the oak tree, photos of the family dog, were standard ammunition in bidding wars. Armstrong, a broker who has worked the Greater Toronto Area market for over a decade, says he used to include one with nearly every competitive offer. Now he rarely bothers. The sellers don't care, and the buyers know it.
The economics changed faster than the tradition
In a market where properties averaged 8 days on market and routinely drew 15+ offers, the love letter served a specific function. When three buyers are within $10,000 of each other and all waiving conditions, the seller needed a tie-breaker. Emotional connection was that tie-breaker. A young couple expecting their first child could edge out an investor offering the same number, not because sentiment beat money, but because sentiment was the last variable left to optimize.
That version of the market is gone. Active listings across the GTA rose roughly 20-25% year-over-year in 2026, and average days on market have stretched past 30 in many neighbourhoods. The Bank of Canada's policy rate sits at 4.25%, which has cut the buyer pool enough that multiple-offer scenarios are no longer the default. When a house sits for five weeks and draws two offers, the seller is not thinking about your Christmas tree plans. They are thinking about whether your financing will actually close.
The shift shows up in what brokerages are telling their agents. Several Toronto firms now actively discourage personal letters, citing liability concerns. The issue is implicit bias. A letter that mentions family size, names, ethnic background, or even hobbies can expose the seller to a claim under the Ontario Human Rights Code if the losing buyer believes the decision was influenced by a protected ground. The Real Estate Council of Ontario flagged this risk years ago, but it only became operationally relevant once the market slowed enough for people to start asking why their offer lost.
What sellers actually want in 2026
Clean offers. High deposits. Short closing timelines that don't hinge on the buyer's ability to sell their condo in a soft market.
Armstrong says the strongest offers he's seen this year have been from buyers who came in with mortgage pre-approvals from a major bank, deposited 10% within 24 hours, and waived the financing condition. No letter. No backstory. The seller wanted certainty, and the buyer delivered it in numbers.
This is a different kind of competition. Instead of 18 buyers trying to outbid each other by $5,000 increments, you have two or three buyers, one of whom has their liquidity and approval lined up and the others who are stretching. The one with the clean offer wins, even if their price is $15,000 lower, because the seller has watched three deals collapse this year due to financing gaps and appraisal shortfalls.
Sentimental sales still exist. An elderly homeowner selling the family house after 40 years might genuinely care that the buyer plans to keep the garden intact. But even there, the sentiment is now a bonus, not a deciding factor. If the nostalgic buyer's offer is conditional on selling their current place and the other offer isn't, the garden promise loses.
The love letter worked when leverage was absolute and inventory was scarce. Leverage is gone. Buyers don't need to beg. They need to close.
Jarrod Armstrong asked his Toronto clients to write a personal letter to the seller when they made an offer last month. They looked at him like he'd suggested bringing flowers to a mortgage underwriter.
The reaction tells you something about how far the market has shifted. Between 2020 and early 2024, those letters, handwritten appeals explaining where the kids would sleep, promises not to tear down the oak tree, photos of the family dog, were standard ammunition in bidding wars. Armstrong, a broker who has worked the Greater Toronto Area market for over a decade, says he used to include one with nearly every competitive offer. Now he rarely bothers. The sellers don't care, and the buyers know it.
The economics changed faster than the tradition
In a market where properties averaged 8 days on market and routinely drew 15+ offers, the love letter served a specific function. When three buyers are within $10,000 of each other and all waiving conditions, the seller needed a tie-breaker. Emotional connection was that tie-breaker. A young couple expecting their first child could edge out an investor offering the same number, not because sentiment beat money, but because sentiment was the last variable left to optimize.
That version of the market is gone. Active listings across the GTA rose roughly 20-25% year-over-year in 2026, and average days on market have stretched past 30 in many neighbourhoods. The Bank of Canada's policy rate sits at 4.25%, which has cut the buyer pool enough that multiple-offer scenarios are no longer the default. When a house sits for five weeks and draws two offers, the seller is not thinking about your Christmas tree plans. They are thinking about whether your financing will actually close.
The shift shows up in what brokerages are telling their agents. Several Toronto firms now actively discourage personal letters, citing liability concerns. The issue is implicit bias. A letter that mentions family size, names, ethnic background, or even hobbies can expose the seller to a claim under the Ontario Human Rights Code if the losing buyer believes the decision was influenced by a protected ground. The Real Estate Council of Ontario flagged this risk years ago, but it only became operationally relevant once the market slowed enough for people to start asking why their offer lost.
What sellers actually want in 2026
Clean offers. High deposits. Short closing timelines that don't hinge on the buyer's ability to sell their condo in a soft market.
Armstrong says the strongest offers he's seen this year have been from buyers who came in with mortgage pre-approvals from a major bank, deposited 10% within 24 hours, and waived the financing condition. No letter. No backstory. The seller wanted certainty, and the buyer delivered it in numbers.
This is a different kind of competition. Instead of 18 buyers trying to outbid each other by $5,000 increments, you have two or three buyers, one of whom has their liquidity and approval lined up and the others who are stretching. The one with the clean offer wins, even if their price is $15,000 lower, because the seller has watched three deals collapse this year due to financing gaps and appraisal shortfalls.
Sentimental sales still exist. An elderly homeowner selling the family house after 40 years might genuinely care that the buyer plans to keep the garden intact. But even there, the sentiment is now a bonus, not a deciding factor. If the nostalgic buyer's offer is conditional on selling their current place and the other offer isn't, the garden promise loses.
The love letter worked when leverage was absolute and inventory was scarce. Leverage is gone. Buyers don't need to beg. They need to close.
Read Next
MCAN's 19% earnings jump proves mortgage impairments aren't the risk signal investors think they are
25 States Sue Trump Over Tariffs, Claiming Presidential Overreach on Import Taxes
Carney's Alberta housing pitch meets canola fields and separatist flags
Kelowna Now Ranks First in Canada for Wildfire Risk: What Condo Buyers Need to Know Before Closing