National plus regional, per the rotation.
Seasonally adjusted annual housing starts came in at 229,046 in August, down from 229,360 in July and 240,486 in June. That's the third consecutive monthly decline, and it matters for listing conversations about future supply in markets where buyers are already waiting out prices.
Inventory in Victoria is outpacing September sales, enough that local coverage is calling the shift into buyer's market territory. Agents with sellers still pricing off spring comparables should have that conversation before the listing sits.
The Toronto Region Board of Trade is warning the city faces a steep shortfall against its housing targets and is calling the gap a drag on long-term economic growth. The group wants zoning and approvals reform treated as urgent, not aspirational.
The Mondria 1 project in Clarington has been placed under receivership following a major water damage incident, according to Ontario Superior Court filings. Buyers with deposits in projects tied to the same developer are worth checking in with now rather than waiting for a court notice to land in their inbox.
Active listings in Toronto shrank year over year in August, giving sellers more leverage than they've had in a while. It's a modest shift, but after a stretch of buyer's-market conditions, thinner supply changes how an agent should price a new listing.
Bank for International Settlements data shows Canadian home prices climbed for the first time in over a year. Adjusted for inflation, though, real prices kept falling, landing near their lowest point in close to a decade, a reminder that a nominal gain doesn't always translate to affordability easing.
A large share of younger Quebec voters say the province's housing supply and affordability crisis will shape how they vote this election, according to a new poll. For agents in the province, party positions on housing policy are suddenly campaign material clients will ask about.
TD has cut its call on Canadian home sales for this year, pointing to higher bond yields eating into affordability gains. Agents building fall pipeline forecasts should treat the downgrade as a signal that financing costs, not just listings, are shaping buyer hesitation.
Calgary city council voted to release a confidential budget document proposing a double-digit municipal property tax increase for typical homeowners next year. Agents working with Calgary buyers should flag the pending hike now, before it shows up as a surprise in closing-cost conversations.
Some Edmonton condo owners say investment firms are making simultaneous offers across multiple units in the same building to gain enough control to convert them to rentals. Agents representing condo sellers or boards should watch for coordinated offer patterns before advising owners on timing.
The City of Nanaimo has issued a development permit for a large residential project on Northfield Road, combining a six-storey building with a row of townhouses. It's another sign Vancouver Island municipalities are pushing multi-unit approvals through faster, which agents on the Island should flag to investor clients scanning for pre-construction inventory.
CMHC figures show Saskatchewan led all provinces for year-over-year housing start growth in August, extending a streak of strong months. For agents outside the province, it's a reminder that builder capital is following affordability and land availability rather than following population alone.
British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby has proposed a tax on unsold new condominiums alongside higher speculation and vacancy fees, framing it as an affordability measure ahead of the election. Developers and Conservative critics are pushing back, and agents selling pre-construction inventory in B.C. should watch how the platform evolves before advising clients on timing.
La Presse profiles a retired teacher weighing whether to sell her home and buy a triplex instead, using the extra units to lower her adult children's housing costs. It's a workaround agents are starting to see more often as parents look for ways to help without simply co-signing a mortgage.
UBS's global ranking now places both cities among the weakest housing markets it tracks, still flagged at moderate risk of a bubble. Depleted listings in Toronto are doing a strange thing — propping up prices even as the ranking sours, exactly the contradiction agents have been living with all year.
An Ontario court has approved KingSett's move to take control of four stalled Vandyk projects after the developer defaulted on its credit. It's another sign that construction financing trouble hasn't gone away, it's just changed hands.
The home was in move-in condition, close to the marina and beach, and still closed below what it fetched five years earlier. Nice location, no reno needed, and the market still said no — a useful data point for anyone still pricing off 2021 comparables.
Edmonton city council voted to amend the zoning bylaw's definition of a lodging house, changing what qualifies as one. The shift opens room for a different mix of secondary rental conversions across the city. Investor clients eyeing rooming-house style rental plays in Edmonton now have a wider path to approval.
A detached house in Toronto's east end pulled in a swarm of competing offers, according to the Globe and Mail, proof that a clean, well-located, move-in-ready listing still generates real competition even as the broader market cools. Buyers have grown pickier everywhere else, but location and condition still close the gap. It's a useful reminder for sellers weighing whether to spend on staging before listing.
The median price for a detached home in Vancouver has slid to its lowest point in years, and the Globe and Mail's tour of listings near that price shows what buyers now get for it. It's a useful benchmark for agents resetting expectations with move-up buyers who assumed the city was permanently out of reach.
Statistics Canada's homeowners' replacement cost index was essentially unchanged in August compared with the two prior months. That stability matters for insurance conversations and for sellers pricing renovations, since it means the input costs behind rebuilding a home aren't currently the thing pushing valuations around.
City council in Saskatoon is being asked to formally review what worked and what didn't during a record year of building and road closures, with an eye to applying those lessons next year. Agents fielding buyer complaints about detours and dust have a council process to point to now, rather than just a shrug.
A waterfront unit in Etobicoke closed well under its original price after buyers negotiated the seller down. The island kitchen and quartz counters didn't stop the discount.
New housing survey data show a growing share of homeowners reporting financial difficulty with their payments. First-time buyers, though, remain less likely than other owners to land in core housing need — a distinction worth raising with anxious first-timers.
Canada's population fell for a third straight quarter, driven by fewer permanent immigrants arriving. A shrinking population raises real questions about the demand-side price support agents have leaned on for years.
The latest daily wrap-up of Quebec's election coverage folded housing promises in alongside pledges on forests and the river system, a sign shelter costs have become a recurring plank rather than a one-off announcement. Agents working the province should expect more platform detail to surface through the campaign, worth tracking for anything touching transfer taxes or construction rules.
Statistics Canada's New Housing Price Index for house and land nationally came in at 120.4 in August, down from 120.5 in July and 120.6 in June. New-build pricing power keeps eroding, giving buyers comparing resale against new stock more room to negotiate.
British Columbia home sales fell again year over year in August, though the province's real estate association describes a gradual recovery taking hold. Agents in the Fraser Valley and on Vancouver Island should temper any rebound talk until volumes actually turn.
Toronto condo presales remain near historic lows, but developers tell Real Estate Magazine that a handful of projects are still finding buyers by resizing units and rethinking amenities. Agents fielding preconstruction questions should ask which builders have actually closed deals this cycle before pointing a client toward one.
CMHC's latest data shows the annual pace of housing starts easing in August, with gains in Quebec and Alberta only partly offsetting declines elsewhere. Agents in markets outside those two provinces should expect tighter new-construction inventory conversations with buyers looking ahead to next spring.
The Globe and Mail traces a Mississauga deal where buyers who lost the first round on a home were called back and ended up closing anyway. It's a reminder to keep outbid clients warm; sellers who don't get financing to close sometimes come back looking for the runner-up.
Residents in Calgary's Erlton neighbourhood are organizing against a proposed affordable housing development on a former Enmax substation site, citing building scale and traffic. Agents working that pocket of southwest Calgary should expect the fight to shape buyer sentiment there through the fall.
Canadian Mortgage Professional weighs whether trade tension, bond market volatility and rising rates together are enough to knock the housing market off course. None of the three is new on its own, but agents should watch for buyers citing all three at once as a reason to wait.
National home prices held roughly steady last month, with higher bond yields already showing up in fixed mortgage pricing and renewed chatter about the Bank of Canada's next move. Sellers banking on a quick rebound may be waiting longer than they'd like.
Home sales across British Columbia extended their decline, adding to a run of soft months for the province. Agents there should keep pricing conservative rather than bet on a quick turnaround.
A three-bedroom Summerhill townhouse sat until its owners cut the asking price, then drew three competing offers and sold well above where it had been languishing. A reset, not a relist, is often what breaks a stalled listing.
The federal housing agency's latest supply report says Canada chipped away at its shortfall over the past year, but still puts the number of homes needed by the mid-2030s to restore affordability in the millions. Expect zoning and land-use fights to stay loud in growth markets this fall.
CMHC's new report shows the City of Toronto broke ground on only a sliver of its typical annual condo output in the first half of the year, well below the decade norm. For agents selling pre-construction, that's a scarcity story that shows up in two or three years, not tomorrow.
A new report puts the value of unsold condos across the region in the billions of dollars, with thousands of completed homes expected to sit empty by year's end. For investor clients, carrying costs are the conversation this fall, not just asking price.
Starting this fall, Alberta will allow property owners to drain temporary and seasonal wetlands without provincial approval. Producers are calling it overdue flexibility; conservationists warn it could reshape drainage patterns and water quality on land agents list every day in rural and acreage markets.
A first-time buyer in St. John's found her mortgage payment landed close to what she'd been paying in rent, and credited a trusted professional for making the process manageable. It's the kind of case agents can use to reframe an affordability conversation that clients assume is closed.
The Bank of Canada's own affordability index shows housing costs relative to income remain well above their long-run normal, even after a stretch of price declines. When a client asks whether it's a buyer's market now, the honest answer is qualified: cheaper than last year, still expensive by the Bank's own yardstick.
CMHC's latest estimate of how much new housing Canada needs each year to restore affordability edged down, but the agency warns construction could slow just as the gap starts to close. Agents selling pre-construction should treat that as a caution, not a green light: fewer starts today mean fewer closings to lean on down the road.
Agents and builders tell the Globe and Mail that the smallest units are taking the steepest hits in the current downturn, even as they say the right price can still move them. It's a segment worth flagging early with sellers who bought at the peak and are pricing off old comparables.
The Financial Post flags Thunder Bay as one of the fastest-selling markets in the country, a contrast to the slower pace dominating headlines further south. Northern Ontario agents fielding out-of-region buyer calls have a genuine talking point here.
The city has surpassed its target under a federal funding program with months to spare before the deadline, CBC Manitoba reports. Agents working new-build inventory in Winnipeg should watch for the program's next phase, since early performers often get first crack at follow-on funding.
Ottawa, Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg have struck a joint agreement to accelerate housing construction in Winnipeg and in Swan River, aiming at supply rather than demand-side programs. Agents in both markets should expect a wave of new-build inventory working through approvals over the next few years, changing the resale competition set.
The Globe and Mail's regional rental ranking for the Vancouver area put Surrey ahead of the city of Vancouver itself and every other community assessed, largely on space and value rather than proximity. For agents fielding renter-to-buyer conversations in the region, it's a data point beyond anecdote when clients ask where the rent dollar stretches furthest.
The replacement-cost component of CPI, which tracks what it costs to rebuild a home, eased from 202.1 in May to 201.5 in June before ticking up to 201.6 in July. For agents fielding insurance questions from buyers, it's a small but real shift after months of steady gains.
Homeowners who bought near the peak are increasingly selling for less than they paid, a reversal from years when a loss on a resale home was rare. Agents are now walking clients through pricing conversations that simply didn't come up a few years back.
Montreal home sales fell sharply in August while active listings climbed, handing buyers more room to negotiate even as prices kept edging higher. Agents working the market should expect longer decision windows now that buyers suddenly have options.
A new report on the Central Okanagan flags ongoing unemployment and housing-start weakness even as the region's labour force and tourism sector keep growing. For Okanagan agents, that mismatch between population growth and new supply is the story to watch heading into fall.
Sales slipped for a second straight month in the Toronto region as new listings kept tapering off, the local board reported. Townhomes took the hardest hit on both volume and price, but thinner supply heading into fall could finally give sellers some room to negotiate again.
Home sales across Metro Vancouver fell again in August, extending a lag that has stretched from spring into fall, the local board says. The board expects the softer pace to continue through year end, a signal for agents there to keep pricing conversations realistic.
Employment fell in August, giving back some recent momentum, with manufacturing the only sector to post a real gain. The jobless rate held steady, a sign the pullback was narrow rather than broad, though it's still worth raising with buyers weighing their own job security before they commit.
Smaller condos in the GTA are losing value roughly twice as fast as larger units, according to a new report on the market. For agents working pre-construction resales, unit size is now doing real work in pricing conversations, not just floor plan preference.
Calgary's housing market is splitting by segment, with the rental side keeping would-be buyers renting longer even as ownership options sit within reach. Agents working both sides of that line have a fresh talking point for renters weighing whether to buy now or wait.
Calgary home sales pulled back in August and the benchmark price eased, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board. It's a cooling signal for a market that had held up better than most through the year, and one more sign the slowdown is spreading west.
A growing number of Canadians, especially younger buyers, are putting bonuses, inheritances and tax refunds straight against their mortgage principal, the Financial Post reports. It's a reminder that affordability pressure is pushing some clients toward aggressive prepayment instead of trading up.
A three-bedroom house near a park in Toronto's Davisville neighbourhood pulled a crowd of buyers over a single weekend, ending in a bidding war among a handful of finalists. It's the kind of outcome agents in the area haven't seen this consistently in a while, and worth citing to sellers weighing whether to list now.
Canadian Mortgage Professional reports that tariffs are pushing some homebuilders toward an existential crisis, with margins thin enough that further trade escalation could force producers out of the business entirely. For agents selling pre-construction, that's a supply risk worth flagging to buyers weighing a purchase now against a completion date years out.
Québec solidaire is proposing that landlords who sell rental buildings to non-profits or housing offices, rather than to private buyers, be taxed differently on the gain, as a way to nudge more stock out of the private rental market and into non-profit hands. It's a campaign proposal, not law, but Quebec agents handling multi-unit rental sales should know it's on the table this election.
Saskatchewan builders broke ground on far more homes through the first half of the year than they have in a long stretch, with growth outpacing every other province, according to provincial data. For agents in Regina and Saskatoon, that means more new-build stock working through the pipeline than the market has absorbed in years.
Fewer international students are arriving in British Columbia, and landlords are turning to domestic students to keep purpose-built rentals full. Agents working the rental side in university towns should expect softer competition for tenants than they've seen in recent leasing seasons.
CLV Group has bought the ReStays Ottawa hotel and a block of unsold ReResidences condos out of a court-ordered sale, according to Ontario Superior Court filings. Downtown Ottawa's unsold condo overhang from the last building cycle is still working its way through the courts, one block at a time.
A judge ruled a batch of Burnaby condo pre-sale agreements unenforceable after finding the developer failed to disclose permit suspensions and financial distress to buyers. The deposits involved remain in limbo, a reminder to walk pre-construction clients through developer disclosure before they sign.
Single-family home sales in the GTA jumped sharply in July, running well above the seasonal norm, as BILD credits the federal HST rebate with pulling buyers back into the market. But condos haven't caught the same lift, still weighed down by eligibility rules attached to the rebate program.
Agents counting on a second-half recovery are instead facing a fresh round of tariff escalation between Canada and the United States. The renewed trade fight is denting buyer confidence just as the market was starting to find its footing. But how long the disruption lasts is anyone's guess.
Saanich council turned down a proposed purpose-built rental development near the University of Victoria, citing unresolved consolidation of the single-family lots involved. The rejection keeps a sizeable chunk of near-campus rental supply off the table, tightening an already tight submarket for agents working student and staff housing.
Construction has started on a mixed-use development in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, backed by funding from the federal government, BC Builds and the University of British Columbia. The multi-government backing signals continued public investment in the neighbourhood, worth watching for agents tracking redevelopment in the area.
Canadian Mortgage Professional lays out how the ongoing tariff dispute with the United States is filtering into housing market forecasts, from buyer confidence to construction costs. None of it is good news, but the piece is a useful primer for agents fielding client questions about why the market feels stuck. It's worth a read before your next listing appointment, since trade policy is coming up unprompted more often these days.
A severe hailstorm tore through Springbrook, Alberta over the weekend, leaving homes, vehicles and property with significant damage, CBC Edmonton reports. For agents working the area, that means insurance claims, repair timelines and buyers asking pointed questions about roof age before they'll make an offer. It's the kind of local disruption that doesn't show up in provincial stats but changes conversations at the kitchen table this week.
Canadian Mortgage Professional reports that household debt growth is slowing nationally, though one province continues to lag behind the broader trend. But the story stops short of naming a fix, offering more of a warning that the recovery in borrowing capacity isn't even across the country. Agents working outside the strongest markets should treat national debt headlines with some caution.
The annual pace of home construction slowed in July, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says, as builders pulled back from June's stronger showing. It's more evidence that new supply isn't arriving fast enough in high-demand markets, worth raising with buyers who assume inventory relief is right around the corner.
Renters are finding more room to negotiate in most of the country. But Quebec's largest markets are moving the other way: existing units in Montreal and Quebec City are seeing intense demand even as new supply arrives at sharply higher rents. Agents working rental files there should flag the split to landlord clients weighing renewal terms.
Albertans are falling behind on non-mortgage debt, credit cards and car loans among them, faster than residents anywhere else in the country, new Equifax data shows. An expert cited in the report ties the trend partly to interprovincial migration, worth keeping in mind when new arrivals are stretching a budget across two kinds of debt at once.
Construction has begun on The Foundry District, a large mixed-use development in downtown Oshawa billed as one of the largest revitalization projects in Durham Region. Agents working that market should expect it to reshape buyer interest downtown as the first towers rise over the coming years.
The Globe and Mail's home tour shows how much detached-home stock a modest budget still buys in Winnipeg compared with Toronto or Vancouver. For agents fielding relocation clients from priced-out markets, it's a handy case study in what still feels like value on the Prairies.
Better Dwelling's read of CREA data shows fewer sales in July combined with already-high inventory produced the sharpest month-over-month price drop so far this year. It's a reminder that the spring recovery hasn't held, and sellers pricing off spring comparables may be disappointed.
Some Greater Toronto homes are selling in under two weeks, Canadian Mortgage Professional reports, a pace that cuts against the broader narrative of a market stuck in neutral. It's a good moment to remind sellers that pricing to the comparable, not to hope, is still what moves a listing quickly.
A new Financial Post analysis of rental-search data finds demand rising fastest in smaller and mid-sized centres, as renters chase affordability and easier vacancy. For agents in secondary markets, that's a signal worth acting on before out-of-town inquiries pile up.
The Canadian Real Estate Association says July home sales trailed year-ago levels but ticked higher against June, a pattern CREA describes as a market moving toward balance. Fewer new listings alongside modest sales gains suggest bidding pressure is easing without tipping into a rout.
La Presse reports that a mounting pile of construction rules and fees in Quebec ends up on the tab of homeowners and tenants, not the industry pushing for them. One economist likens it to a candy dish everyone insists they'll only dip into once, until everyone takes their share and the bill lands somewhere else.
A soft condo market and shifting life plans are pushing some first-time Toronto buyers to rent out units they'd meant to live in, the Globe and Mail reports. It's a quiet sign of how stuck resale condo pricing has become in parts of the country.
National home sales climbed for a fourth straight month in July, according to CREA figures reported by The Globe and Mail, with monthly volume at its highest point of the year so far. For agents watching for the turn, this is the clearest signal yet that buyers are coming back off the sidelines.
The strain from Ontario's condo downturn is concentrated well outside Toronto's core, in places like Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and downtown Hamilton. Agents working those submarkets should expect longer carrying times and more builder flexibility on price than city-wide averages suggest.
A Mayne Island home with a rental suite sold well under asking this month, and the listing agent says the same property would have commanded far more just two years ago. It's a small sale, but it says something about how much air has come out of pandemic-era Gulf Island pricing.
CMHC's outlook for the greater Montreal rental market points to a coming shift, with rent growth expected to fall behind inflation for the first time in a generation. Agents building rental-focused business in the region should treat this stretch as a window, not the new normal.
Zoocasa lays out what a typical Yukon capital purchase buys compared with Toronto, framing the trade-off as freehold homes at a steep discount with friendlier personal taxation for higher earners. It's a niche relocation case, but the affordability gap is real enough that GTA buyers are asking the question seriously.
The federal and Ontario governments have unveiled a new funding envelope to help municipalities build the water, sewer and road infrastructure needed to unlock new home construction. Because approval speed often decides which subdivisions break ground on schedule, agents working new-build corridors should watch which municipalities move first.
Builders in the territories are leaning on modular construction, energy-efficient design and community land trusts to work around high costs, labour shortages and long supply chains. The housing shortage looks different above the 60th parallel, and so do the fixes.
Greater Toronto Area home sales slipped again in July compared with a year earlier, ending a stretch of monthly annual gains, though the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board noted an improvement from June once seasonally adjusted. Agents working the region should read the month-over-month bump as noise, not a turn, until the annual comparison flips positive too.
Home sales across British Columbia fell again in July, with Lower Mainland weakness driving the provincial decline, and activity stayed well below its historical average even though most regions improved from June. The province is still working through the same soft patch it's been in for a while now.
New listings pulled back across the Toronto region in July even as sales dipped only slightly, a combination pointing toward tighter conditions than the sales figure alone suggests. But semi-detached and townhouse segments took the hardest hit on both sales and price, according to TRREB.
Rents in Abbotsford held steady through July even as the provincial average kept climbing, widening the gap between the Fraser Valley city and pricier B.C. markets. For agents working both sides of the business, it's a reminder that affordability pressure isn't uniform across the province.
Sales of tiny condos are picking up compared with last year, though activity remains well below the frenzy of five years ago when prices in the segment were still climbing. It's a small corner of the market, but it's showing more movement than the slow-market headlines would suggest.
Canadian rents appear to be levelling off after a long stretch of declines, according to Canadian Mortgage Professional. But if that holds, it changes the pitch for landlord clients who've been bracing for more of the same.
Montreal's housing market is adjusting further as condo supply keeps building up, per Canadian Mortgage Professional. Agents working that segment should expect longer days on market and more room for buyers to push back on price.
The New Housing Price Index came in at 120.6 in June, down from 120.7 in May and 121.1 in April. The move is small in absolute terms, but it is builders setting these prices rather than sellers negotiating them, and a builder discounting new stock sets the ceiling for resale on the same street. Toronto is the exception and the more interesting one: 120.7 in June, 120.7 in May, 120.7 in April. Three months at an identical reading in the country's largest market means builders there are waiting, not responding.
Zoocasa's study of sixty Canadian cities found twenty-nine where a minimum-wage worker must put more than 120 hours of monthly pay toward rent. Edmonton needs 108. This is the affordability floor beneath your buyer pipeline: where renting takes that much, saving a deposit takes years longer than a client thinks.
The Globe profiles a 37-year-old tech worker whose condo has fallen in value and whose early-retirement plan has gone with it. Worth reading for the language a genuinely worried owner uses, which is not the language of a market report.
Canadian Mortgage Professional reports brokers folding political and economic risk into their outlooks rather than treating rates as the only variable. A useful reframe when a client asks what happens next.