Sales fell nearly 10 per cent year-over-year, active listings climbed to the highest October level ever recorded, and prices declined across every major property type and region. These are not the markers of a market finding equilibrium. They are the conditions of a market struggling to clear.

For much of 2025, falling prices seemed to lead to increased sales activity. As prices fell, more buyers could afford houses, so more purchased houses. But October has violently broken this trend, significantly slower than last year, with supply growing and demand falling. Should this trend continue, we’ll move deeper into buyer’s market territory and see further downside pressure on prices. Buyers have taken a step back to safety against renewed trade tensions, rising unemployment and increasing mortgage delinquencies. 

In spite of this, TRREB’s report headline (“More Choice, Greater Affordability for Buyers”) message focuses on improved affordability through lower mortgage rates and reduced selling prices. That framing obscures the magnitude of the shift underway. When home sales drop and inventory accelerates simultaneously, the issue is not simply buyer opportunity. It is the erosion of purchasing conviction and a widening disconnect between what sellers believe their homes are worth and what buyers are willing to pay. A decade of ultra-liquid conditions has given way to an environment where liquidity itself is failing.

The numbers reveal a market losing its floor

The GTA recorded 6,138 sales in October, the third-weakest October since at least 2010. The only weaker years were 2022 and 2023, both widely recognized as recessionary periods for real estate activity. Meanwhile, active listings surpassed 27,800, a 17 per cent annual increase and the largest October inventory level ever published by TRREB, as shown in the chart below. New listings have not collapsed. Demand has.

Prices are following. The average selling price declined more than seven per cent year-over-year, and the MLS HPI composite fell five per cent. Detached homes in the 416 dropped more than nine per cent. Condominiums, long considered the last rung of entry-level ownership, posted double-digit declines in sales and continued price softness. Even the segments once assumed to be supply-constrained are no longer insulated.

A market can absorb falling prices when turnover is strong and new buyers enter confidently. That is not the present situation. Homes are taking longer to sell. Relist cycles are increasing. Public sentiment surveys show heightened anxiety about employment security and renewal risk. The conditions that normally signal the bottom of a cycle, such as rapid absorption, visible investor re-entry and the return of bidding in pockets of the market, are absent.

Why TRREB’s framing misses the point

TRREB highlights lower mortgage payments as a positive development. The logic is correct but incomplete. Monthly payments are falling because both borrowing costs and asset values are falling together. That is not evidence of restored affordability but rather a symptom of waning demand meeting rising inventory. A household is not empowered by a lower payment if it does not trust its future income, nor by a reduced asking price if it expects that price to fall further.

The suggestion that the present environment favours buyers is accurate only in the narrow sense that buyers now hold greater negotiating leverage. For sellers, the implication is harsher. Each month of elevated inventory exerts incremental downward pressure on pricing expectations, particularly for those facing refinancing deadlines, investor exit timelines or job insecurity. Price discovery has not yet run its course, and the depth of unsold stock ensures it will continue.

The report also implies that a more predictable macroeconomic backdrop, including clarity on trade relations with the United States and China, could unlock pent-up demand. This underestimates the extent to which confidence has already fractured. The challenge is not merely uncertainty about external conditions. It is a shift in perception about the direction of housing as an asset class, following years in which price appreciation was treated as a near-guaranteed outcome.

The implications of excess supply

The gulf between active listings and transactions is now the widest in the data history (see the chart below). That spread matters because housing markets do not correct on price alone. They correct on time. As listing windows stretch and carrying costs accumulate, forced selling accelerates. The early signs are visible in investor-held properties where mortgages originated in 2020 to 2021 are approaching renewal at rates two to three times higher than their initial term. If wage growth and rent increases fail to offset those adjustments, more supply will enter the market under pressure rather than preference.

For policymakers, the situation complicates the usual prescription to build more housing. Supply expansion remains essential for long-term affordability, yet the near-term problem is not insufficient construction so much as insufficient absorption. Programs aimed at accelerating new starts risk backfiring if they collide with a demand downturn and a credit environment that remains restrictive. The next phase of housing policy must not only stimulate supply but stabilize the conditions under which that supply can be financed, purchased, and retained. Recent proposals to reduce upfront costs for first-time buyers in Ontario offer one such example.

For buyers, the opportunity is real but requires discipline. Lower prices and reduced competition do not automatically translate into strategic entry points. Markets in correction rarely move in straight lines. The prudent buyer evaluates not just headline prices but the trajectory of inventory, the stability of employment and the likelihood that financing conditions will shift again before maturity. The discount available today may expand tomorrow.

For sellers, realism is not optional. List-to-sale ratios are already reverting toward levels seen in the early 1990s, and the pool of buyers who can purchase without financing friction is narrowing. Pricing to the market, not to the memory of 2021 valuations, is now the difference between selling and relisting.

What comes next

The next decisive turn in the GTA housing market will not be triggered by a single rate cut or a cosmetic rebound in monthly sales. It will come when inventory begins to clear at a sustained pace and when buyers regain conviction in the trajectory of their own balance sheets. Neither condition is currently in place.

The October report will be read by some as evidence of a turning point in affordability. It reads instead as confirmation that the correction has more room to run. Markets do not bottom on hope. They bottom on exhaustion. The data shows a market still searching for that threshold.

The post Foch: A market in full correction appeared first on REM.

Each Wednesday, Real Estate Magazine shares insights, experiences and advice from top-performing teams and agents across Canada. If you’d like to contribute or nominate a colleague or team, send us an email.

Editor’s note: Rob Golfi answered our questions in September 2025, as part of a feature in a special print edition of REM.

REM: How did you first get into real estate?
RGT: I wanted a business where effort directly translated into results. In real estate, when you make a sale, you get paid in 60 to 90 days. In traditional business, you’re often chasing receivables or waiting months for payment. Real estate gave me control over my own success — the harder I worked, the faster I saw the return.

REM: When did you decide to build a team?
RGT: When I joined Re/Max Escarpment in 1999, there were only two teams in the office. I saw how they leveraged time, resources and talent to grow beyond what one agent could do. That inspired me to start my own team so I could scale, create systems and deliver a better client experience.

REM: What role do you play today?
RGT: I’m the visionary. I set the direction, oversee finance, lead the brand and stay involved in operations to make sure everything runs at the highest level. My job is to ensure the systems, marketing and people all align to achieve our goals.

REM: Give us a snapshot of the team today.
RGT:

• Agents: 65

• Staff: 20 (admin, marketing, client care and support)

• Markets: Hamilton, Halton, Brantford, Niagara

• 2024 production: 872 transactions | $670,502,463 volume

• 2025 YTD: 577 transactions | $423,477,248 volume

• Staff-to-agent ratio: 3:1

The Golfi Team continues to expand, with a presence in multiple southern Ontario boards and a strong internal culture built around accountability and results.

REM: What were your first key hires?
RGT: An administrator, an administrative assistant and an agent. Solid administrative support was the foundation — it freed me to focus on listings, marketing and growth. Adding a second agent immediately expanded our ability to handle more clients and maintain quality service.

REM: What advice would you give a new team leader?
RGT: Don’t be greedy. Give your agents all the leads. If they succeed, the team succeeds — and that momentum fuels growth. Your focus should be on building a machine that supports your agents, not competing with them.

REM: What are your top lead sources?
RGT: Direct mail, PPC (Google and Meta ads) and radio/outdoor advertising. Our marketing budget is divided roughly as follows:

• 35 per cent direct mail

• 30 per cent PPC

• 20 per cent radio/outdoor

• 10 per cent SEO/website

• 5 per cent referrals and community events

We’ve learned that every channel plays a role — PPC delivers volume, direct mail drives listing appointments and radio/outdoor builds the brand.

REM: Which channel would hurt most if cut?
RGT: Radio and outdoor. They’re brand trust builders. Those channels connect us to the community, create top-of-mind awareness and legitimize everything else we do online.

REM: How do you handle new leads?
RGT: Every lead goes into our lead router system and is hand-assigned to the duty agent. Our goal is a response time of under five minutes. For call-in leads, it typically takes three to four touches to set an appointment and six to eight touches to convert to a contract. Online leads can take longer. We used to have inside sales agents (ISAs), but we found a strong agent-led follow-up model works best for us today.

REM: What’s in your tech stack?
RGT:

• CRM: Follow Up Boss

• Website/IDX: Sierra Interactive

• Automation: Follow Up Boss + TextingBetty

• AI: Currently piloting AI agents for calls and appointment booking, with weekly email reports for activity-based coaching

• Finance: SISU, leadership meetings, whiteboards and Excel

• Other tools: ConnectTeam (internal comms), BombBomb (video messaging), Canva (marketing)

REM: How much do you reinvest back into the business?
RGT: About 20 per cent goes into marketing and 25 to 30 per cent into staff. We track cost per lead, cost per appointment and cost per deal — but cost per deal is the key number. That’s the metric that shows real profitability. At our scale, a healthy return on ad spend (ROAS) is about 5:1 — for every dollar spent, we expect five back in closed business.

REM: What kind of agents thrive on your team?
RGT: Full-time, coachable, driven agents who follow proven systems. We reward consistency and persistence — and new agents typically get their first deal within 30 to 90 days.

REM: What do top earners do differently?
RGT: They follow up relentlessly and stay in touch long after closing. Follow-up is everything. The best agents never stop nurturing their database — they build lifetime relationships.

Lightning round with Rob Golfi

Market insight: Luxury listings sell faster than people think. Priced right, many move in 45 days or less.
Tech you’d fight to keep: Follow Up Boss — it’s the backbone of our lead management and client follow-up.

Marketing hill you’ll die on: Billboards. They build credibility and brand recognition like nothing else.
Agents fail because… they’re lazy.
Teams win because… they offer accountability, training and great culture.

The post Team spotlight: Q&A with the Rob Golfi Team appeared first on REM.

Related Posts

Foch: A market in full correction

Nov 5, 2025

October’s TRREB data paints a picture of a housing market still in retreat — where even falling prices can’t lure buyers back

read more

Team spotlight: Q&A with the Rob Golfi Team

Nov 5, 2025

With more than $670 million in sales volume in 2024 and nearly $423 million year-to-date in 2025, the Golfi Team dominates markets across southern Ontario.

read more

The Price Change Playbook: How top agents stay in control when listings stall

Nov 5, 2025

Unlock the secrets of top agents who navigate price changes with confidence and strategy. Learn how to keep control when listings stall and maintain client trust.

read more

« Older Entries

The post The Price Change Playbook: How top agents stay in control when listings stall appeared first on REM.

According to a new report from Wahi, sales of homes priced at $3 million and up fell roughly 15 per cent in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same time last year, and 17 per cent from the second quarter. In total, 321 luxury homes changed hands between July and September, down from 376 in the third quarter of 2024 and 388 in Q2 2025.

“Luxury homebuyers may have bigger budgets than typical buyers, but many seem to be exercising caution and standing on the sidelines anyway,” said Ryan McLaughlin, economist at Wahi.

Toronto still leads in luxury activity

Despite the pullback, the City of Toronto remains the hub for high-end real estate deals. Of the 22 GTA neighbourhoods with at least five luxury home sales in the third quarter, 14 were located in Toronto proper, underscoring the city’s enduring appeal among affluent buyers.

The top performer? Yorkville, where nine homes sold for a median price of $6.25 million, making it the GTA’s most expensive neighbourhood for luxury resale homes.

Other Toronto neighbourhoods showing renewed life in the $3-million-plus range include Ledbury Park, Lawrence Park, Rosedale, Forest Hill, the Beach and Willowdale. Outside the city, West Oakville in Halton Region also stood out for its uptick in luxury transactions.

Buyers remain selective

While the luxury segment is cooling overall, the data suggests deep-pocketed buyers are becoming more discerning rather than disappearing entirely. Central neighbourhoods with established prestige, walkability and access to amenities continue to draw interest.

The post Luxury home sales cool across the GTA — but a few neighbourhoods are still hot appeared first on REM.

From rooftop pools to yoga studios, condo developers across Canada are doubling down on amenities to stand out in a crowded market. But are buyers really choosing homes based on the extras?

Taylor Musseau, partner at MLA Okanagan, said amenities help round out the lifestyle pitch for Stober Group’s new two-building development in Kelowna, where she is handling sales and marketing.

The development dubbed Movala, in Kelowna’s sought-after South Pandosy area, includes nearly an acre of shared spaces. Residents will have access to a pool, hot tub, al fresco dining areas, gardens, a gym, yoga room, cabanas, a bocce ball lawn, games room, guest suite and an indoor “great room” designed for entertaining. 

“It’s tailored to four-seasons living here,” Musseau said.

The two-building project totals 325 homes, with the first now welcoming residents and the second set to be completed next year. Musseau said building one is nearly sold out.

An outdoor dining area at Movala (photo: Stober Group)

Beyond the amenities, Movala’s draw is rooted in a mix of design, price and location. 

The development sits near a popular Okanagan beach. One-bedrooms start in the mid-$400,000s, while two-bed, two-bath homes are priced around $580,000, figures Musseau describes as “good value” for comparable constructions in the area.

She said the extra amenities haven’t added a lot of extra expense for residents because the costs are spread out amongst so many homeowners, noting fees come in at just under 50 cents a square foot.

After an initial marketing push targeting empty nesters and downsizers, the team has shifted its focus to younger buyers and families. 

“We’re looking more at young professionals, young couples, people who want to live here full-time,” she said.

Can buyers have it all right now?

Condo buyers in Vancouver are sitting in a strong position, said Adil Dinani of Royal LePage West Real Estate Services. 

“We’re in a buyer’s market for most segments right now, especially condominiums,” he said. “Buyers have selection and they have time. It’s a very unique time in the market. We haven’t seen the stars align like this since pre-COVID.”

With roughly 17,000 active listings in Greater Vancouver, and about 40 per cent of them condos, buyers can afford to be choosy.

Price and location still drive decisions, Dinani said, but amenities are becoming a bigger part of the conversation.

“The amenity offering is important,” he notes, pointing to demand from active baby boomers looking for fitness facilities, pools and saunas in their buildings.

But while the lifestyle features attract attention, they also come with higher costs. “You might have a 1,200-square-foot two-bedroom and your maintenance fees could be almost 80 or 90 cents per square foot,” he said, which would total about $900 a month.

He adds that while some residents love the idea of a saltwater pool or concierge, he has learned that not everyone capitalizes on the amenities in their buildings after they move in.

Sometimes, it’s simple things like air conditioning that drive demand, he said.

“A lot of older buildings, even those built as recently as 2015, don’t have A/C,” Dinani said. “Now it’s near the top of buyers’ lists.”

Community as an offering

Jeff Brown, executive vice president of NorthStar Development, is behind an up-and-coming project in his hometown of Port Coquitlam.

NorthStar took the project over from a previous developer who had completed the basement level, and has redesigned the building to match today’s market demands, said Brown.

Wellness and social living is at the heart of the concept for the 102-unit project called Livy.

“The desire for community is something that’s been growing, particularly post-2020, when we were all isolated,” said Brown. “There’s a growing expectation, we feel, for a curated lifestyle, which offers wellness and shared spaces that foster connection and could lead you to meet your neighbours.”

The vision for the golf simulator at Livy.

Livy’s design features more than 10,000 square feet of amenities, including an expansive rooftop space, a virtual golf simulator and high-tech wellness areas. Among the most alluring features is a Nordic-style spa with hot and cold plunges.

He said their target is first-time buyers. Junior one-bedroom units are priced at $389,000 and range up to $739,900 for two-bedroom plus den units, according to Livy’s website.

Brown said an expertly-drafted design helped offset the costs of the “extras” for residents. The spa, he said, adds an extra six cents a month to the average condo fee.

“We were able to put our heads together and execute without spending frivolously,” he said. “There’s a bit of an art to it.”

The post Developers bank on lifestyle to attract a new wave of buyers appeared first on REM.

The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) has issued an order to freeze the bank accounts of Oakville, Ont.-based Rexig Realty Investment Group. The regulator has also issued a proposal to revoke the registrations of both the brokerage and Broker Paul Poliszot, the brokerage’s director and president. 

The measures, announced Oct. 30 under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 (TRESA), are intended to protect consumer deposits. RECO says the freeze order prevents funds from being withdrawn from the brokerage’s bank accounts. It uses freeze orders “when necessary” to ensure that money held in brokerage accounts is not at risk of being misused.

Rexig, which employs 10 agents according to the regulator, remains open. RECO says the broker of record will oversee remaining transactions and facilitate the transfer of agents and active listings to other brokerages.

Appeal process

A proposal to revoke registration is issued when the Registrar believes a brokerage or registrant is not entitled to registration. The decision can be appealed within 15 days. If no appeal is filed, Rexig and Poliszot’s registrations will be terminated, and they will no longer be permitted to trade in real estate.

Poliszot did not respond to Real Estate Magazine’s request for comment.

In a 2021 interview with REM, Poliszot described his firm as working “much like a real estate investment bank,” advising smaller investors — such as medical professionals, lawyers and entrepreneurs — on building real estate portfolios.

Province reviewing iPro audit

The enforcement action comes as the Ontario government confirms it has received Dentons Canada’s audit into RECO’s handling of the iPro Realty scandal, which involved the alleged misuse of millions in trust funds. Minister Stephen Crawford has said the findings will be made public once his review is complete, though no timeline has been given.

Consumers and agents affected by the Rexig freeze order are encouraged to contact RECO.

Editor’s note: Realty Executives has no affiliation with Rexig Realty Investment Group Ltd. A previous reference has been removed to avoid confusion.

The post RECO issues freeze order, proposes to revoke registration of Oakville brokerage appeared first on REM.

Brankovsky, who’s with Royal LePage, believes that open houses are still worthwhile (“all you need is one buyer”). But she’s finding that there’s often less traffic through them in her area than in previous years. After all, when sales are down, open house activity tends to fall off as well, although it can depend on the neighbourhood.

“There’s nothing worse than sitting there for four hours with no one coming through. I think at the moment it’s less about the market and more about the economy. The cost of living is holding people back.” 

Different stories across the country

Post-pandemic-related changes must be considered as well. With homebuyers now having increased access to tools such as virtual tours, a lot of legwork can be done online, making a decline in open house activity seemingly inevitable.

But while this seems to be the case in certain pricy major centres, particularly Toronto and Vancouver, it’s a different story elsewhere, with some higher-performing markets seeing activity galore.

The latest data shows that “stark regional variations” have characterized the fall housing market, observes Ryan McLaughlin, an economist with Wahi, a Canadian digital real estate platform. According to RPS-Wahi’s latest house price index report, home prices continue to slide in the country’s most expensive cities. 

“But in select locales with better affordability conditions, gains are beginning to accelerate,” says McLaughlin. You could probably conclude that in these latter areas, it would make sense that there’s more open house action, he notes. 

Although the national numbers overall are suggestive of a market on pause, “that’s certainly not the case in cities in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, as well as certain parts of the Prairies, which may be heating up more,” McLaughlin explains.

While this latest fall data show Toronto and Vancouver housing prices dropping by at least four per cent from last year, quite a few cities with greater affordability have been experiencing stable performance and significant price growth. McLaughlin lists Winnipeg, Quebec City, Montreal and Regina among these, and to a lesser extent Calgary, Edmonton and Halifax.  

Canada’s easternmost city is ‘on fire’

 RPS-Wahi also has data not publicly included in its price index showing that year-over-year, home prices in St. John’s, N.L., have grown a whopping 12 per cent. 

Says Jim Burton, owner of ReMax Infinity in St. John’s: “Things are on fire here. It’s crazy busy. I’ve never seen a market like this. In a market currently not experiencing the best in some Canadian centres, be aware that other parts of the country are robust. And Newfoundland is one of them.”

This is a welcome change for the local real estate community. “We’re a hardened crew, used to going out and nesting in the gale, surviving hard times,” says Burton. 

Today, inventory in St. John’s is down, and sales are up. Multiple offers and homes selling over-asking have become common, which is unusual for the province. 

“We’re seeing a lot of capital coming in,” observes Burton. “There’s an abundance of buyers and few sellers. A lot of people are attending open houses. They’re pumped.” 

Making a case for open houses

Far from feeling that open houses are an outdated tool, Burton continues to find them a cost-efficient way of marketing, promotion and lead generation – not to mention an industry standard which tends to be expected by clients.

But not to worry, in a competitive sellers’ market like St. John’s, there’s no need for agents to knock themselves out getting overly creative with their open houses, in his opinion.

“Do your homework and be prepared,” he advises. Advertise well in advance. Take care of any necessary painting and repairs. “Put some buns in the oven and create a warm atmosphere.”

Setting the mood

Then again, kicking it up a notch can’t hurt. 

At the open houses hosted by Calgary agent Renata Reid, senior vice-president of sales at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, there may be live music, catered refreshments and games. Once, an Aston Martin was on display in all its glory. Buyers can’t get that experience – the aromas, the ambiance – online, she observes.

“It creates an atmosphere that makes people feel welcomed and want to linger. I take open houses to the next level.”

It’s hard to say what, if anything, would bring open house activity fully back to pre-pandemic levels Canada-wide. With Christmas less than two months away, it won’t be long before the seasonal slowdown hits. Many agents don’t do open houses on holiday weekends, focusing instead on family. But there are plenty of people visiting from out of town during holidays with time on their hands, who may be looking to move closer to relatives, Reid points out.

“Take a break if you need it. But it can be a great time for an open house.”

 Vancouver-based eXp Realty agent Tom Ikonomou agrees. 

“If people are trudging through the snow to an open house during a holiday, then you know they’re serious about buying.”

The post Open house trends defining Canada’s uneven real estate market appeared first on REM.

QUICK HITS

• The developer’s attempt to add nearly $60,000 in extra fees beyond the APS terms was determined to be a breach of contract.
• Courts ruled that sellers must provide clear documentation and justification for any additional charges listed in statements of adjustments.
• Because the seller breached the APS, buyers were entitled to recover their deposit and upgrade payments
• Because the buyers took possession of the property for at least a year, the buyers were found responsible for paying fees totalling $68,000 to compensate the seller for the time they lived there.

In litigation arising from disputed real estate transactions, courts are frequently confronted with circumstances where a buyer tries to close for less than the agreed sale price.

In many cases where a buyer tries to close for less than the price agreed to by the parties, the buyer is the party in default, and the seller is entitled to retain the deposit paid in addition to seeking other damages from the buyer.

In some cases, however, a failure to close may be due to additional unanticipated charges imposed by the seller on top of the original agreed-upon price. A seller’s demand for more than the agreed purchase price is just as much a default as a buyer’s demand to pay less. Whether or not such charges are permitted is generally determined by the wording of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) between the parties.

Taheripouresfahani v. Dormer Bond Inc., 2025 ONSC 5833 (CanLII) arose from a dispute between the buyers and the developer/seller of a newly built property in Richmond Hill, Ont.

The purchase and disputed charges

In 2020, the buyers entered into an APS with the developer for the purchase of the property for $761,490. The buyers paid installments of more than $114,000 as a deposit and $11,540 for additional upgrades. The final closing date was to be designated by the developer’s lawyer upon at least 14 days’ notice.

Pursuant to the terms of the APS, the buyers were allowed to move into the property before the final closing date once occupancy was permitted. In April 2023, the buyers moved into the property as permitted and began to make monthly occupancy payments of $3,782.

On July 31, 2023, the developer delivered a notice scheduling the closing date of Sept. 15, 2023.

On Sept. 7, 2023, the developer delivered a Statement of Adjustments to the buyers’ lawyer, which included additional charges totaling almost $60,000. The charges were stated to be for:

• Development charges/increased levies: $8,000 plus HST
• Meters (hydro/gas): $8,163 plus HST
• Vendor’s legal and administrative fees: $8,605 plus HST
• Alternative materials cost: $27,021.08 plus HST

A flurry of correspondence ensued between the lawyers over whether or not the charges were permitted under the APS. The developer offered to reduce some of the charges but demanded a mutual release in return. The buyers refused and demanded that all the additional charges be removed. The transaction was not completed by the Sept. 15, 2023 closing date, but the lawyers continued to exchange correspondence in the following days concerning the statement of adjustments and additional charges.

On Sept. 26, 2023, the developer’s lawyer confirmed that the transaction had been terminated. The developer demanded that the buyers vacate the property.

Court finds sellers in breach

Litigation ensued, with each party moving for summary judgment.

The motion judge noted that a buyer is generally entitled to proof of figures contained in a statement of adjustments: Bellisario et al v. 2200 Bromsgrove Development Inc., 2025 ONSC 2546, at paragraph 61.

The motion judge further noted that the APS specifically stated that the balance due on closing would be adjusted to include “any development, education, park or other levies or imposed charges or taxes by Government Authority”. Accordingly, while the development charge of $8,000 was potentially allowed by the APS, the developer had an obligation to explain how the charge was calculated. The developer had failed to provide any evidence to substantiate the charge, referring only to an unexplained “formula” used by the municipality.

Further, while the APS permitted adjustments for the cost of hydro and gas meter installation, the developer did not provide any documents to the buyers or the court on the motion to demonstrate how the amounts were determined.

A similar issue arose regarding the legal and administrative fees. While the APS provided such fees to be added to the statement of adjustments under specific conditions relating to NSF or “stop-payment” cheques, these did not apply in this case.

Lastly, the motion judge found that none of the “alternative materials cost” charges were provided for in the APS and that there was no evidence to support the amount charged by the developer.

The motion judge concluded that it was not the buyers who breached the APS but the developer who tried to close for more than the agreed-upon price in the APS by adding approximately $60,000 in charges that were either unjustified or not authorized. The developer’s attempt to claim any one of these charges was a violation of the APS.

As a matter of law, the motion judge determined that the demand for additional payment as a condition of closing was an anticipatory breach of contract based on the principles discussed by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Spirent Communications of Ottawa Limited v. Quake Technologies (Canada) Inc., 2008 ONCA 92, at paragraph 37.

The motion judge decided that buyers were therefore entitled to the return of their deposit and amounts paid for upgrades to the property.

Buyer’s occupancy and financial responsibility

While that result would have ordinarily been determinative of the dispute, the case was unusual due to the fact that the buyers had taken possession of the property in April 2023 and resided in it for at least a year thereafter. By the time of the hearing in 2025, they still had furniture in the property and continued to pay for internet and security cameras. The buyers also refused to consent to an order of possession in favour of the developer. The motion judge found the buyers’ refusal to pay the developer for their possession of the property to be an untenable position.

In the result, therefore, the buyers were found to be responsible for the monthly occupancy of $3,782 up to the date of the decision in October 2025 (totaling $68,076), as well as for reimbursement of property taxes of $6,586.56 paid by the developer during that period and unpaid condominium fees of $3,882.

Costs of the litigation based on the divided success of the summary judgment motions are to be determined.

The decision demonstrates that sellers seeking to impose additional charges on the agreed-upon purchase price will need to ground such charges in the specific terms of the APS and have an obligation to provide satisfactory back-up documentation to substantiate the charges. Buyers who take possession of a property before closing should be prepared to compensate a seller for their time in possession of the property before it is re-sold to another buyer.

The post Buyers win after developer tries to up the price by $60,000 at closing appeared first on REM.

The post REVEL Style Magazine, the ‘X’ edition appeared first on REM.

Related Posts

Foch: A market in full correction

Nov 5, 2025

October’s TRREB data paints a picture of a housing market still in retreat — where even falling prices can’t lure buyers back

read more

Team spotlight: Q&A with the Rob Golfi Team

Nov 5, 2025

With more than $670 million in sales volume in 2024 and nearly $423 million year-to-date in 2025, the Golfi Team dominates markets across southern Ontario.

read more

The Price Change Playbook: How top agents stay in control when listings stall

Nov 5, 2025

Unlock the secrets of top agents who navigate price changes with confidence and strategy. Learn how to keep control when listings stall and maintain client trust.

read more

« Older Entries

The post The Canadian Real Estate October Market Breakdown appeared first on REM.