Snowbirds Aren’t Playing Chicken With U.S. Real Estate, and Canadian Housing Affordability Improves

This week’s top real estate stories.

By  Jared Lindzon | 2 minute read

Every Friday, Wahi brings you the most important real estate stories from the past week. 

Home Prices Swing in Some Toronto Federal Election Ridings

Swing voters are a reality of elections, but what about home price swings? Ahead of Canada’s next federal election this upcoming Monday, Wahi analyzed home prices in each of Toronto’s 24 electoral districts, as well as those in the surrounding regions. The digital real estate platform found that since Canadians last headed to the polls, there have, in fact, been some major swings. Since the third quarter of 2021, when Justin Trudeau’s Liberals defeated the Erin O’Toole-led Conservatives, most ridings saw modest gains or declines, but there were a few outliers. In Oakville West, single-family home prices soared 10% between elections. Meanwhile, in Brampton South, condo prices declined 26%.

Canada’s Foreign-Homebuyer Ban Remains Popular

Days ahead of Canada’s 45th federal election, voters remain relatively split on who should lead the country for the next four years, with the Liberals eking out a lead, the latest polls suggest. However, there’s one thing the vast majority of Canadians can agree on: maintaining the foreign-homebuyer ban. More than three-quarters of Canadians support Canada’s decision to ban non-Canadians from purchasing real estate, according to the results of a new Research Co. poll. An additional 13% oppose the ban, while 11% of respondents are undecided. The ban was first enacted in 2023 as a two-year moratorium in an effort to cool housing demand and, following a previous extension, is currently in effect until 2027.

Springtime, When the Homebuying Is Easier 

Nobody said buying a home in Canada was easy, but it did just get easier. That’s according to the latest Ratehub.ca research. The analysis looks at the income required to purchase a home across 13 major markets as of the end of March, taking mortgage rates, home prices, and qualification rules into account. The results? In 10 of 13 markets, the income required to purchase a home fell compared to the previous month. The exceptions were Edmonton, Regina, and Winnipeg. Ratehub.ca partially credits falling mortgage rates for the improvement in Canadian housing affordability. “Combined with dropping home prices in several major markets, those lower borrowing costs made it easier for home buyers to purchase a home throughout much of Canada,” notes Penelope Graham, a mortgage expert and director of content at Ratehub.ca.

Canadian Snowbirds Flying Back North

Snowbirds of a feather stick together. Last year, Canadians overtook Chinese homebuyers as the top foreign purchasers of U.S. residential real estate, but the shifting political landscape stateside has many so-called snowbirds now cashing out of the market, Reuters reports. In particular, Canadians are looking to offload secondary residences in the sunny states of Arizona and Florida, which have long attracted Canadian retirees looking to escape the Great White North during the winter, Realtors tell the news agency. (Both states also happen to be Republican strongholds.) As Canadians flock back north, the effects are likely to be felt on local American economies. “South Florida’s residential market has for decades been reliant on the annual influx of Canadian snowbirds who either own property and pay property tax or rent for the winter months — either way, a boost to the economy,” says Ermengarde Jabir, a director of economic research at Moody’s Analytics, as per Reuters.

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