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.”

Susan Doran

Susan Doran is a Toronto-based freelance writer who has been contributing to REM since its very first issue.

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

The following is based on a conversation recorded on The Leads Are Sh*t podcast. Click here to watch the full interview.

When the real estate world crashed in 2007, Ray Ellen was just getting started. Six months in, listings dried up overnight. He remembers driving past empty fields that already had streets and curbs poured, ghost subdivisions that never made it past the blueprint.

Sellers were showing up to closings in tears. Buyers were grinning ear to ear. Title companies started splitting closings so no one had to sit across from each other.

Most agents working today have never lived through that kind of freeze. Ellen has. And the lessons he learned back then are exactly what agents need now.

‘Balance’ on paper still feels like a downturn; price to win early

A balanced market doesn’t feel balanced when you are coming off the highs of 2021.

Ellen breaks pricing into three simple pieces:

• Comparables: Figure out a realistic range, not a dream number.
• Absorption rate: Are sales speeding up or slowing down month to month? If they are slowing, you can’t price like it is still 2022.
• Competitive set: Look at what is active right now. If there are seven similar homes and five likely buyers, do you want to be the one who sells first, or the one who cuts the price in 60 days?

“If there are four buyers for seven homes, my question to the seller is simple,” Ellen says. “Do you want to be in the top two that sell, or the five that chase the market?”

Do the pricing work with sellers, not for them

Instead of showing up with a printed CMA, Ellen builds it live at the kitchen table.

He pulls up comps, adjusts features and lets the seller call out differences. By the end, they land on a number together.

“Almost every seller says, ‘No one has ever done this with me,’” he says. “That is the point. It is their decision, not my opinion.”

It turns pricing into a collaboration instead of a debate, and it sticks.

Think 90-day campaigns, not weekend launches

When homes sold in a week, agents could throw everything out in the first few days and move on. That does not work anymore.

Ellen plans for a 90 to 120-day arc on every listing:

• Weeks 1–2: make the property look and feel like a premium product with photos, video and strong copy.
• Weeks 3–4: widen the audience, rotate creative and reach new eyeballs.
• Weeks 5–8: change up the hooks, refresh visuals and adjust the price only when paired with a new marketing push. 

That is how he has been able to relist expired homes at the same price and get them sold. The issue usually isn’t price. It is momentum.

Win with questions, not speeches

In softer markets, hard sells fall flat. Ellen has learned to replace statements with questions that help clients talk themselves into the right move.

• “What would it mean to be in your next home sooner?” 
• “If prices are higher in three years, would waiting still make sense?” 
• “When you divide the equity you are giving up by ten years in the right home, is that trade-off worth it?”

He laughs and says, “People trust decisions more when they hear them in their own voice.”

Go after the listings no one else wants

A lot of agents say they don’t want inventory right now. Ellen’s response is, “Great. I’ll take it.”

Hard listings are where the real wins live. Fewer competitors, bigger stories, stronger referrals.

Recently, he took an expired listing, priced it the same, marketed it properly, and sold it in days.

“That client is now telling everyone about it,” he says. “Those testimonials are gold.”

Answer the phone – seriously

Ellen tells a story about a couple moving from Germany. They messaged ten agents. He was the only one who replied.

“It wasn’t my brand or my videos that won them. It was that I answered first,” he says.

Responsiveness is the simplest differentiator in real estate, and most still miss it. Second-ring pick-up. Five-minute text response. Same-day appointment offers. That is the baseline.

Build Q4 momentum to own Q1

Ellen’s big focus this year is finishing strong. His team is running contests, chasing every lead and preparing for a Q4 that could outpace spring.

“Every great first quarter I have ever had came from a busy fourth quarter,” he says. “Momentum compounds.”

The takeaway

The agents who make it through slow markets are the ones who can show their work, sustain demand and help families make confident decisions even when things feel uncertain.

That is what Ellen took from 2007, and it is why he is still here to tell the story.

REM Bot

Content by REM Bot has been created with the assistance of AI. Audio and video interviews, conducted by our team with real people, are transcribed and repurposed into text for those who prefer reading. REM Bot articles are reviewed by staff before publication to ensure factual accuracy and maintain editorial standards.

The post What the 2007 financial crisis taught one team leader about weathering future downturns appeared first on REM.

In its Q3-2025 Condominium Market Survey, released Thursday, the market research and analysis firm reported just 319 new condo apartments were sold in the third quarter of 2025, down 54 per cent from a year earlier and 92 per cent below the 10-year average for the period. It was the weakest third quarter since 1990.

Weak demand crushes new projects

Developers have pulled back sharply. Ten projects with a total of 2,499 units were cancelled during the quarter, bringing the year-to-date total to 18 projects and 4,040 units. 

That already surpasses the previous record set in 2018, when 15 projects with 3,598 units were cancelled. 

Since the start of 2024, 32 projects totalling nearly 7,000 units have been scrapped, with another 20 now on hold or in receivership, according to the report.

“The condo market has clearly become depressed as it undergoes a difficult correction following excessive growth that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation. “However, the lack of activity occurring today will surely lead to a lack of supply in a couple years, helping to restart the engine for the market.”

Only two new projects started in Q3

In the third quarter, only two projects totalling 614 units started construction, a 77 per cent decline from a year earlier and 88 per cent below the 10-year average. Year-to-date starts of 2,176 units represented a 28-year low. 

At 59,204 units, the total number of condos under construction fell to its lowest level since Q4 2017, dropping 43 per cent from the record high reached three years ago in 2022 at 104,617 units.

Unsold new units surge 142%

Overall unsold inventory across all stages of development edged down two per cent to 22,602 units, reflecting fewer new launches and cancellations. 

However, unsold units in completed projects increased 142 per cent from a year ago to a record high 2,944 units. This figure doesn’t include all units that were pre-sold but ultimately failed to close.

Impact on prices

Prices have eased but remain elevated compared with resale, reads the report. Developer-owned unsold condos averaged $1,199 per square foot in the third quarter, down 3.5 per cent from last year. Newly completed resale units averaged $867, while unsold pre-construction units averaged $1,315.

The post Toronto-Hamilton new condo sales sink to 35-year low as cancellations surge appeared first on REM.

The month also broke with seasonal tradition. Sales declined by 1.7 per cent from August to September, a reversal that is unusual for a period when activity typically accelerates. Major markets, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal, all saw slower sales, with Toronto and Winnipeg as the exceptions. Rather than marking the beginning of renewed momentum, the September figures suggest a market struggling to generate even the modest lift that normally accompanies the fall season.

Supply, demand and the tilt toward buyers

What ultimately governs market direction is the relationship between supply and demand. While sales volumes were up 5.2 per cent from last year, listings increased at a faster clip. Active listings stood at nearly 200,000 properties in September, a 7.5 per cent rise year-over-year and roughly consistent with long-term averages. In contrast, sales remain well below those averages.

This divergence matters. A housing market bends toward whichever side expands more quickly. At present, listings are outpacing sales, forcing sellers to adjust downward to meet buyer bids. 

CREA’s sales-to-new listings ratio fell to 50.7 per cent, below the long-run mean of 54.9 per cent. Months of inventory sat at 4.4, slightly under the historical benchmark of five. According to traditional definitions, these readings still describe a balanced market. Yet these conventions are increasingly outdated in an era when technology accelerates transactions and shortens days on market. By older standards, the market appears stable. By contemporary dynamics, it leans distinctly toward buyers.

Prices flat, confidence fragile

On the surface, prices appear steady. The MLS Home Price Index was effectively unchanged in September, slipping just one-tenth of a percentage point from August. Year-over-year, the decline was 3.4 per cent. Such stability suggests the violent correction of 2022 and 2023 has given way to a slower grind. But stability in the numbers does not equal stability in sentiment.

The Canadian labour market has begun to fray. The closure of Stellantis operations in Brampton erased 3,000 jobs. Manufacturing layoffs ripple through Ontario. Unemployment rates are rising across most cities, with Alberta as a notable exception. GDP growth and job creation have been flattered by public sector hiring and fiscal spending, but households know that secure employment is what enables the confidence to purchase a home. Without conviction about income, families hesitate to assume long-term debt even if mortgage rates edge lower.

The fragility of confidence is why CREA’s invocation of “three years of pent-up demand” rings hollow. Demand is only meaningful if it is actionable. The desire to own does not translate into transactions when affordability remains out of reach. Wages must rise, rates must fall further, or prices must adjust downward before demand can be considered real.

The policy backdrop and political void

For years, population growth was the bedrock of housing demand. Immigration targets sustained a bullish narrative even when affordability eroded. That tailwind has now slackened. Political appetite for renewed acceleration in population growth is weak. Without it, a key pillar of long-term demand has been diminished. The looming renegotiation of CUSMA in 2026 adds further uncertainty to the outlook for demand, as the prospect of trade disruption clouds Canada’s broader economic trajectory.

Meanwhile, fiscal and monetary policy operate at cross purposes. Bond markets price the possibility of higher fixed rates toward the end of next year even as the Bank of Canada signals restraint. Government spending props up GDP in the short term, yet this masks structural vulnerabilities. Insolvencies and delinquencies are rising. The foundations of household balance sheets are deteriorating.

It is in this context that CREA’s optimism must be read. The association and its economists are correct that interest rates have normalized relative to the recent past. They are less convincing in suggesting that this will unleash latent demand. Recovery requires not only lower financing costs but also a sense that the broader economy is resilient enough to sustain households over the long term.

An extended holding pattern

Canada’s housing market now occupies an awkward middle ground. It is neither collapsing nor recovering. The correction phase has ended, but the renewal phase has yet to begin. Prices are flat, sales volumes are weak, and the balance of supply and demand tips gradually toward buyers. The system is stalled in place, waiting for either confidence or affordability to break the deadlock.

For policymakers, this limbo should be a warning. In the absence of robust wage growth, sustained employment, or structural improvements to housing supply, the market will not find a natural path back to equilibrium. For households, the message is equally stark. Stability is not the same as security. The risks of job loss, inflation and policy drift weigh heavily on decisions to buy or sell.

The September report is thus not the turning point CREA suggests. It is another entry in a long sequence of data that shows the same reality. Canada’s housing market is stuck. The question is not whether a boom or bust is imminent. It is whether we are prepared for the prolonged stasis that lies ahead.

Daniel Foch

Daniel Foch is the Chief Real Estate Officer at Valery.ca, and Host of Canada’s #1 real estate podcast. As co-founder of The Habistat, the onboard data science platform for TRREB & Proptx, he helped the real estate industry to become more transparent, using real-time housing market data to inform decision making for key stakeholders. With over 15 years of experience in the real estate industry, Daniel has advised a broad spectrum of real estate market participants, from 3 levels of government to some of Canada’s largest developers.

Daniel is a trusted voice in the Canadian real estate market, regularly contributing to media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CBC, Bloomberg, and The Globe and Mail. His expertise and balanced insights have earned him a dedicated audience of over 100,000 real estate investors across multiple social media platforms, where he shares primary research and market analysis.

The post Foch: Canada’s housing market is stuck in neutral appeared first on REM.

The city recorded 1,720 sales against 3,782 new listings, driving inventory to 6,916 units — 36 per cent higher than a year ago and more than 17 per cent above typical September levels, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB). Row and apartment-style homes led the increase in supply.

Supply growth outpaces demand

Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB chief economist, said supply has been climbing across resale, new home and rental markets at the same time demand is slowing. She noted that slower population growth and ongoing uncertainty are reducing urgency among buyers.

“Resale markets have more competition from new homes and additional supply in the rental market, reducing the sense of urgency amongst potential purchasers. Ultimately, the additional supply choice is weighing on home prices,” Lurie said.

The benchmark price dipped four per cent from September 2024 to $572,800.

The sales-to-new-listings ratio slipped to 45 per cent in September, while months of supply rose to four — the highest since early 2020.

Apartment sector sees biggest impact

Apartment-style homes have been most affected, with rising supply creating buyer’s market conditions. Prices fell more than six per cent year-over-year to a benchmark of $322,900 in September.

Detached homes also faced more supply, though less dramatically. At a benchmark of $749,900, detached prices were down just one per cent from last year, with declines concentrated in the North East and North districts.

The post Calgary real estate sees 36% spike in supply appeared first on REM.

John King, license partner and broker at Engel & Völkers Ottawa, coined the term “microbursts” to describe these pockets of intense activity in the city’s most desirable areas, like Westboro, the Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Golden Triangle, Wellington Village, and Highland Park, among others.  

“If a home is priced right, you can still see multiple offers,” King said. “It’s really location and price-sensitive.”

Luxury market trending up

According to Engel & Völkers’ 2025 mid-year Canadian Luxury Real Estate Market Report, properties priced between $1 million and $1.99 million accounted for 10.8 per cent of all real estate transactions in Ottawa in the first half of the year, up from 8.6 per cent in the same period last year. 

As of the end of June, total residential and condo sales in the $1 million-plus segment were up 31.2 per cent year-over- year, underscoring Ottawa’s role as one of Canada’s most “resilient luxury markets amid broader national volatility,” reads the report.

Still, notes Engel & Völkers, buyers remained somewhat cautious. 

“Unlike the bidding wars of recent years, 2025 saw extended decision timelines and increased scrutiny of floor plans, renovation needs and neighbourhood trends,” reads the report.

Ottawa Real Estate Board backs up the case for a strong luxury market, with homes over $1 million up 31 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year. Those homes represent 11 per cent of all Ottawa sales, up from nine per cent a year earlier. However, inventory has risen 60 per cent, meaning “there is a lot more competition for luxury buyers than ever before,” King said.

‘Sellers can still call the shots’

Robert Hogue, assistant chief economist at RBC, says Ottawa’s steadiness comes from a tighter balance between supply and demand than in other major Canadian centres. “It has seen an increase in supply, but nowhere as much as markets like Toronto or even Vancouver,” he said. “Sellers can still call the shots … that’s why we’re seeing prices remaining relatively resilient in Ottawa compared to other markets.”

While inventory has risen, Hogue described the shift as a market correction after the extremely tight conditions of the past few years. He linked it to the sharp interest rate hikes between 2022 and 2024, which slowed demand and lengthened selling times. “This has been starting to reverse since the Bank of Canada’s cut rates, but not entirely.”

The broader economy is also a factor, he said. “Ottawa has been a bit more … resilient in its labour market, but it’s softened as well,” Hogue said. Consumer confidence, he added, has been challenged by a slower Canadian economy and the trade dispute with the U.S.

What’s in store for the rest of the year?

Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, King said he expects “more of the same” with strong competition in desirable neighbourhoods, increased bargaining power for buyers, and an emphasis on correct pricing. “You’ve got to be priced right, you’ve got to be marketed properly, and you’ve got to be well represented to get the people in there,” he said.

Samantha Long

Samantha Long is a contributing writer for REM. Based in Atlantic Canada, she has over a decade of experience covering business and politics across digital, print and broadcast media.

The post ‘Micro-bursts’ of intense demand popping up in Ottawa’s luxury market appeared first on REM.

The shadow market consists of both presale condo units that are available before the building has been constructed, and the units that are leftover from the presale period but are still not listed on the MLS.

“(Presale inventory) doesn’t get picked up in the real estate boards’ monthly analysis,” Vancouver Realtor Steve Saretsky told Real Estate Magazine. “There’s never any discussion that the preconstruction market also has all-time record high inventory, and none of that gets tracked publicly.”

He said that the large amount of shadow inventory is putting more pressure on prices and is straining developers, and predicts housing starts will continue to fall off aggressively since developers aren’t selling the inventory they already have. 

This is a fairly new phenomenon, according to Saretsky, because condos used to sell out very quickly in the presale period due to a strong bull market and the presence of investors. Now, investors have fled the market, and most buyers are end users who are less interested in the small condos on offer, meaning many developers can’t sell all their units before the building is complete and are left with shadow inventory.

“(The shadow market has) never really been a conversation,” Saretsky said. “I think it matters.”

Developers holding back inventory

Toronto Realtor Tom Storey told REM that typically a developer won’t list their inventory on the MLS because they don’t want to overwhelm the market and compete with themselves, or make previous buyers aware that they’re now offering a discounted price on their units. Instead, they’ll list just a handful of units so buyers know they exist, but often buyers will have to find out about the full extent of shadow inventory through their Realtor.

The problem is that this glut of presale inventory hasn’t been competitive with the already extensive amount of resale inventory on the market due to its higher price, according to Saretsky and Storey.

That makes the shadow inventory a hard sell for developers,, and some have had to offer big discounts to get it moving.

Storey said there was a one-day flash sale in Surrey, B.C., where the developer of one building took 25 per cent off all of their remaining inventory, and it sold out in one day. Even with the new Liberal federal government axing the GST for first-time homebuyers, resale condos are still cheaper and attracting most of the buyers, according to Storey.

Storey said much of the shadow inventory skews to more luxurious, large units that may appeal to downsizers who can wait a few years before moving in, rather than more budget-minded buyers who usually want a place that is move-in ready immediately.

He estimated based on data from Urbanation that there are roughly 2,500 shadow inventory units in the GTA that are not listed on the MLS, compared to about 7,000 listed resale units.

“It’s nowhere near the MLS numbers, but it’s not nothing,” Storey said. “It’s building.”

Market pressures forcing new sales tactics

Vancouver Realtor Hasan Juma told REM that his city will likely have 3,500 shadow inventory units by the end of 2025, compared to about 10,000 unsold resale listings. That’s according to data from real estate agency Rennie.

He said that developers may begin to change their sales habits due to growing shadow inventory. Typically, they might try to sell up to 70 per cent of their units in presale to secure funding to build, then try to sell the rest later at a higher price. Now that they’re not selling those leftover units, they may not be as willing to keep them for later as they have been before.

“A lot of developers have been burned in that process,” Juma said. “It’s probably going to change how they do that moving forward.”

Juma said that a lot of resale inventory now has barely been lived in, so shadow inventory has a hard time competing with it given its main advantage is it is new.

In all, the Realtors say that shadow inventory only exacerbates the current condo crisis, though Juma noted that most industry experts factor in shadow inventory when talking about the situation. 

“The general public … don’t know the full scope of how big and how great the amount of supply is,” Juma said. “Buyers have a good amount of options.”

Eric Stober

Eric Stober has over 10 years experience as a journalist and writer at publications big and small, including Global News, Toronto Life, Post City Magazine, Greencamp.com, the Toronto Star and The Grid.

The post Realtors warn of ‘shadow’ condo inventory building in major cities appeared first on REM.

Buyer demand remains strong in the coastal city. With its laidback charm, top-rated restaurants, access to nature, and relative affordability compared to Canada’s major metros, Halifax continues to attract interest from across the country and beyond.

“Nova Scotia, I think, was a stepping stone, whereas now it’s a destination,” said Re/Max Nova broker/partner Ryan Hartlen.

Hartlen describes the current housing market as “a slight seller’s market.” He said that the city has “come out of a really strong seller’s market,” and while some elements remain, “it’s not nearly as intense as it was.”

Bidding wars and sales over asking are still happening, but mostly at the lower end of the market. “Anything that’s below the average sale price, let’s say $600,000, that’s generally where you’re still seeing the competition, multiple offers, and bids that are over ask price,” said Hartlen.

 “But once you get into that $750,000 range and above, that’s where things start to slow down.”

Halifax’s average price has increased by about 75 per cent since 2019, when it hovered around $350,000.

Re/Max’s 2025 Fall Housing Outlook forecasts a two per cent rise in sales and prices this season compared to 2024, with the average price expected to land at $614,000.

All of Nova Scotia was lifted in the low-interest-rate, high-migration era of 2021-2022. 

Nova Scotia’s population cracked 1 million people at the end of 2021, and has continued to climb each year since. Halifax has about 500,000 people, and its population is expected to grow rapidly. Halifax city staff have estimated the city could double its population by 2050.

Catching up to the rest of the country

Heading into the pandemic, Halifax was already experiencing low inventory, said Hartlen. Low stock collided with a sudden surge in demand, resulting in a sharp rise in home prices. “Prices naturally went up, as they did across Canada,” said Hartlen. “But for us, I felt like it was almost a catch-up from the previous 10 years.”

Compared to major markets such as Toronto or Vancouver, Halifax hadn’t seen the same dramatic growth in average home values over the past decade. “It wasn’t flat, but in comparison to those cities, we didn’t have the big jumps,” he said. “So it felt like this was just bringing us back to where we probably should have been.”

That momentum carried prices beyond expectations, fueled by national trends and pandemic-driven migration. Yet the real shift may be Halifax’s newfound status. 

“Since the pandemic, Halifax has been put on the map in many ways,” Hartlen said.

Demographic factors

Hartlen said that Halifax’s market dynamics are influenced by the aging population, “although (the demographic) is trending younger now,” he said.

He points to the stability created by the Department of National Defence, which is the city’s largest employer.

Halifax is also home to a high concentration of universities, which, in addition to creating plenty of jobs, brings a pipeline of new talent to the province.

Why the current market could be sustainable

Hartlen believes Halifax is well-positioned to sustain both activity and pricing compared to larger Canadian cities. 

He points to the sheer growth happening across the region. “We’ve got a lot of development going on, a lot of cultural expansion, city development, nightlife, restaurants—there’s just been such a big increase overall,” he said. “It’s now a place that people just want to be.”

That shift has helped Halifax sustain its pandemic-era price gains, even as some bigger markets experienced declines. “Comparatively to those other cities, we’re still a relatively cheap option,” Hartlen said. “And we have almost as much to offer.”

While Halifax doesn’t boast major league sports teams, it has built a lifestyle appeal that resonates with newcomers and long-time residents alike. “That’s why we didn’t see the big drops some other cities did post-pandemic,” Hartlen said. “The fundamentals were still pretty strong here, and I feel like we were insulated from some of the negative aspects that hit elsewhere.”

Re/Max Nova has 285 agents and several offices across the Halifax Regional Municipality, and one office in Windsor, NS.

Courtney Zwicker

Courtney Zwicker is a digital reporter and associate editor for REM. Based in Atlantic Canada, she has over a decade of experience covering daily business news.

The post A frenzied run-up put Halifax on the map, but is the market built to last? appeared first on REM.

Sales clocked in at 5,211, slightly higher than last year, but on a seasonally adjusted basis, it was the first monthly decline since March. Prices remain under pressure: the benchmark fell to $978,100, continuing a nine-month streak without gains. More importantly, the mix of which products are falling hardest is surprising even to seasoned observers.

Detached homes and condos lead the decline

Conventional wisdom said 416 detached homes would prove more resilient than condos. Instead, they have posted one of the steepest drops of this cycle, down more than 10 per cent year over year, the largest decline in the core and among freehold properties. The only segment that fared worse was 905 condominiums, which fell 10.6 per cent annually. These are not marginal adjustments; they are some of the deepest corrections seen in recent memory.

Other product types were not spared either. Average prices are down across nearly every category, with one exception: 416 townhouses, up about one per cent. For investors and builders, that small uptick hints at a potential redevelopment angle. Townhouse-style multiplexes on detached lots could pencil in more favorably if the spread between detached and townhouse values persists. But that is more of a niche silver lining than a broad market trend.

Inventory surge reshapes market power

The biggest story is not just about falling prices, but also about swelling supply. Active listings surged 22.4 per cent compared to last August, one of the largest year-over-year increases on record. Only May 2025’s 41.5 per cent spike rivaled it.

And the momentum is not slowing. Active listings historically rise in September, and early tracking suggests another record could be set. Last year, inventory jumped five per cent from August to September. With 2025 already running 20 to 40 per cent higher year over year, a comparable gain would push Toronto into uncharted territory for supply:

This imbalance is shifting the balance of power. With more options, buyers can demand price cuts. Sellers who resist price discovery face longer wait times. The average days on market rose from 29 to 33, with properties now typically taking more than a month, sometimes two, to sell.

Sales are up for the wrong reasons

TRREB and bullish analysts may point out that sales are higher than last year. But the data reveal why: more people are transacting because prices are falling, not because confidence or fundamentals have improved. In July, sales briefly outpaced new listings, hinting at demand catching up. But in August, that reversed. New listings jumped 9.4 per cent while sales crept up only 2.3 per cent. Supply growth is once again outpacing demand growth, a hallmark of deepening buyer’s market conditions.

The broader policy dilemma

The Bank of Canada faces pressure to restart rate cuts this fall. Monetary easing might pull sidelined buyers back in, but without structural affordability through higher wages and more attainable supply, it risks reigniting speculative churn. Lower rates cannot solve a market defined by abundance without affordability.

Meanwhile, TRREB has called for infrastructure spending to support growth. That is the more durable fix: aligning housing with incomes, transit, and services. Otherwise, the market risks bouncing between boom and bust on the back of credit cycles.

What this means for buyers and builders

For buyers, today’s environment is one of rare leverage. Longer days on market and swelling inventory mean bidding wars are evaporating, replaced by opportunities to negotiate. The risk is not missing out, but over-reaching, especially if prices continue to slide into the fall.

For builders, the era of assuming perpetual scarcity is over. Projects premised on constrained supply may underperform. The developers best positioned will be those who deliver family-sized units, rentals, and mixed-income communities, products resilient to speculative cycles.

A market that mirrors the economy

The GTA housing market has always been a proxy for the broader economy. Today’s weakness coincides with slowing exports in Ontario’s steel and automotive industries, pressured by U.S. tariffs. Housing, once the locomotive of economic recovery, cannot be counted on alone this time.

Whether the market stabilizes or continues correcting will hinge less on interest rates and more on structural alignment: matching supply to incomes, inventory to demand, and housing policy to the realities of the twenty-first-century economy.

Daniel Foch

Daniel Foch is the Chief Real Estate Officer at Valery.ca, and Host of Canada’s #1 real estate podcast. As co-founder of The Habistat, the onboard data science platform for TRREB & Proptx, he helped the real estate industry to become more transparent, using real-time housing market data to inform decision making for key stakeholders. With over 15 years of experience in the real estate industry, Daniel has advised a broad spectrum of real estate market participants, from 3 levels of government to some of Canada’s largest developers.

Daniel is a trusted voice in the Canadian real estate market, regularly contributing to media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CBC, Bloomberg, and The Globe and Mail. His expertise and balanced insights have earned him a dedicated audience of over 100,000 real estate investors across multiple social media platforms, where he shares primary research and market analysis.

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According to Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR), residential sales in the region totalled 1,959 last month.

While that’s 55 sales more than August 2024, sales levels were still nearly 20 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average (2,424). 

“The August sales figures add further confirmation that sales activity across Metro Vancouver appears to be recovering, albeit somewhat slowly, from the challenging first half of the year,” said Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics. “Sales in the detached and attached segments are up over 10 per cent from last August, which suggests buyers shopping in more expensive price points are re-entering the market in a meaningful way.” 

Prices are easing as inventory climbs 

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS is 16,242, a 17.6 per cent increase compared to August 2024 (13,812). 

This is 36.9 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average (11,862). 

At the same time, the composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1.15 million, a 3.8 per cent decline year-over-year, and down 1.3 per cent from July.

As sellers’ and buyers’ expectations have become more aligned, transaction volume has picked up, Lis said.

“Newly listed properties remain in line with their ten-year seasonal average however, which when paired with increasing sales activity, is likely to diminish the available inventory,” he said. “This also means the window of plentiful opportunity for buyers may soon begin closing if these trends continue.” 

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