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Canada’s real estate market is increasingly favoring buyers, especially in major cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary. In the Greater Toronto Area, for instance, home sales climbed to a five-month high in June 2025—seasonally adjusted sales rose 8.1% from the previous month to 5,068 units—marking the strongest activity since January.
The market cooldown is partly attributed to policy shifts, notably cuts to the Bank of Canada’s benchmark interest rate—a cumulative 2.25 percentage-point drop since June 2024—which has softened borrowing costs. Additionally, Canada's revised immigration targets—cutting future permanent resident targets from 500,000 to 395,000 in 2025, and further down to 365,000 by 2027—are easing demand pressures and contributing to a more balanced housing environment. These population constraints are helping to slow rent growth and give some relief to an overheated market.
Despite these welcome signs for buyers, affordability remains a major concern. Even with slight market corrections, housing prices continue to be out of reach for many Canadians—and rental costs remain elevated compared to incomes. Structural issues like chronic under-supply—stemming from insufficient construction over years of rapid population growth—are deep and complex. Politically, measures such as the foreign-buyer ban have stirred debate: critics argue it was largely symbolic, since foreign ownership made up only about 1% of sales, and real relief will require ramped-up housing production.
Read the full article on: CBC
