With the looming threat of U.S. tariffs, Canadians are treading carefully in the real estate market. New data from the Canadian Real Estate Association reveals a potential drop in sales, indicating that both buyers and sellers are exercising extra caution in their transactions and reassessing their real estate plans.
“It’s not structural; it has nothing to do with household finances or savings; people are uncomfortable, and when you’re uncomfortable, it’s harder to make a big decision,” said Phil Soper, CEO of Royal Lepage Canada.
This shared sentiment, reported by the Canadian Real Estate Association, has led to a 9.8 per cent drop in national home sales month-over-month, with the number of newly listed properties falling by 12.7 per cent from January to February.
“Southern Ontario is in many ways the economic engine of Canada, and Canada is an exporting nation, so there are reasons that the GTA is seeing more of a dip because of consumer confidence compared to other regions in the country,” said Soper.
He also pointed to markets in Windsor, central Quebec, and Alberta as areas to watch as the trade war unfolds.
While it may not be a key sellers’ market in downtown Toronto, agents say with an oversupply in the condo market and lowered interest rates for those looking to buy, this may be the time to set an optimistic outlook amid uncertain times.
“I think this is a great time for buyers to buy; buyers are buying, and a lot of the deals that we are closing now, you can have a home inspection, you can have a financing condition where two or three years ago, it may have been difficult to negotiate and you can have the property you want with having those conditions, said Francesco Porretta, real estate agent with Forest Hill Real Estate Brokerage.
As for what’s next, experts say that it is a wait-and-see situation as Canada awaits the impact that the tariffs and trade war could have in Toronto and across the country regarding the real estate market.
