Montreal and Quebec City Lead in Home Sales, and Homebuyers Return to the Sidelines

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. 

An April to Forget for GTA’s Housing Market

April showers won’t bring May flowers to Toronto if they’re also being tariffed by the American government. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, home sales plummeted 23.3% last month due to economic uncertainty, falling for the third month in a row. Just 5,600 homes changed hands in April across the GTA, compared with 7,300 in April 2024, while 18,836 new listings hit the market, and prices dropped 4.1%. TRREB says the “preconditions for a housing rebound are in place” once that pesky trade war and the general feeling of economic terror that accompanies it has finally subsided.

A Tale of Two Housing Markets

Canada’s housing market troubles apparently don’t translate into French. Despite declines in other major cities, sales in Montreal and Quebec City are increasing. According to the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers, sales increased 12% in and around Quebec City in April compared to 2024, nearly matching their pandemic peak, while prices jumped 13% among condos and 18% among single-family homes. Montreal, meanwhile, saw a 10% jump in sales, and prices are similarly up across all property types. According to the Association, the market activity is largely driven by newly eased mortgage insurance rules and lower interest rates.

Recession Fears Have Buyers On Hold

Canada is not in a recession, but it may as well be based on how buyers are behaving. According to a new survey by BMO, nearly three-quarters of Canadians believe we’re bound for a recession — up from 60% in March — and 67% of homebuyers are waiting for interest rates to drop further before making a move. The survey found that 56% feel they missed their chance to purchase, including 66% of millennials. Half of Canadians also said homeownership has gotten less attainable in the last 12 months, and 66% are less confident they will ever enter the housing market.

More Interest Rate Drops on the Horizon?

If economic forecasts are to be taken with a grain of salt, then those made in 2025 should be taken with a salt mine. That said, experts are generally optimistic that interest rates are going to drop further after being held at 2.75% in mid-April. Most of Canada’s Big Banks believe there will be two more 25 bps reductions this year, while Scotiabank, BMO and National Bank suggest there could be a third, bringing the overnight rate to 2% to close out 2025. That said, those decisions will be largely based on a certain unpredictable President south of the border.

Toronto Gets Cancelled

Torontonians have given up on condos, and now condos are giving up on them. According to a report by Urbanation, plans for eight different housing developments with nearly 2,000 units combined have been scrapped since this time last year, while three more have been put on hold. Another six buildings, meanwhile, are being converted to rentals, adding a combined 1,434 apartments to the rental market. All told, 28 housing projects across the GTA and Hamilton, representing 5,734 new housing units, have been cancelled, put on hold, are in receivership, or have been converted to rentals since early 2024.

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