Expected Rebound for Canadian Housing Market, and Interest Rate Cuts Ease Financial Pressures for Mortgage Holders

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.

Canadians Expect a Market Recovery in 2025

Like the aftermath of a bad breakup, the Canadian housing market is done feeling sorry for itself and ready to get back out there. According to a study by Re/Max Canada, the market will be on the rebound in 2025, thanks to declining interest rates. They anticipate a 5% boost in average prices and more buying activity in 33 out of 37 regions. One-third of Canadians also said they were optimistic 2025 will bring more favourable market conditions, and Re/Max data suggests we’ll see a return to a seller’s market in 44% of regions and a balanced market in 33%.

Toronto’s Housing Market on Ice  

Despite showing some signs of life in October, the GTA’s housing market is back on the gurney. According to a new report by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), there were only 765 new home sales in the GTA in October, 60% less than last October. New condos had it even worse, with just 210 units sold, less than last month’s measly 247, representing an 84% drop from last year and a 91% dip below the 10-year average. BILD remains optimistic that things will turn around soon but warns that slow sales are slowing construction, threatening future inventory. 

More Canadians Paying Bills on Time  

It’s been a tough year for Canadian pocketbooks as the price of everything has gone through the roof — including the roof itself. Equifax Canada, however, is giving us reason to be optimistic with its latest report suggesting lower interest rates are reducing missed mortgage payment rates. While annual delinquencies were up 9.5% in the third quarter compared to the same time last year, it was a major improvement from Q2, when delinquencies rose 11.7% over the previous year. Missed credit card payments also remained in the “high but declining” category, and lower interest rates expected to improve both moving forward.

Ontarians May Soon Sleep at the Office  

Yesterday’s office towers may become tomorrow’s condos thanks to a new proposal aimed at speeding office conversions. Back in May, Liberal MPP Karen McCrimmon proposed a bill that would remove a section of the Environmental Protection Act to speed up conversions by up to two years in Ontario. The Ford Government voted that bill down in October and then proposed a nearly identical one last week, in a classic case of “but I said it louder.” The proposal would remove the existing six-storey height limit on such conversion projects, potentially paving the way for office tower conversions in the future.

Selectively Listening to the Analyst Predicting Super Low Interest Rates  

Most of the major banks expect interest rates to drop 100 basis points to 2.75% by next summer, where they will hover until 2026, but we prefer to listen to Ben Rabidoux of Edge Realty Analytics. That’s because the housing market analyst suggests rates could drop another full percentage point to 1.75%, by July, which would be welcome news for millions of Canadians facing higher renewal rates in the coming years. Rabidoux’s bold prediction is based on the economic slowdowns that may result from the recent pullback on immigration, which the Bank of Canada has warned could negatively impact growth. 

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