Hopes of a long-awaited recovery in Canada’s housing market are quickly fading as the renewed trade conflict with the United States injects fresh uncertainty into real estate transactions across the country.
Industry figures had been quietly encouraged by recent figures showing national home sales climbing for a fourth straight month — a tentative sign that the prolonged downturn might finally be loosening its grip. That optimism is now under threat, according to realtors who warn that fresh American tariffs on a broad range of Canadian goods could erode buyer and seller confidence just as the market finds its footing.
More than twelve months after Donald Trump’s initial tariff threats triggered a sharp contraction in housing activity, the sector is once again bracing for turbulence. Buyers concerned about job security, investment portfolios and the trajectory of interest rates are caught in a holding pattern with no clear exit. Sellers, meanwhile, face the prospect of offloading properties at painful losses should demand falter.
“I honestly don’t know how the fall market will be,” James Warren, an agent with Toronto’s Chestnut Park Real Estate, told The Globe and Mail. “But if you want to sell, you’ve got to price your house for this market.”
Quebec stands apart as rental market resists downward drift
While much of Canada has grown accustomed to softer asking rents, greater tenant choice and even signing bonuses, Quebec — historically a bastion of affordability and tenant protections — is failing to follow the national script.
Montreal, in particular, has emerged as an unexpected outlier. According to Rentals.com, the average listing rent for a two-bedroom unit in the city sat at £1,698 (C$2,255) in August, representing a marginal year-on-year decline of just 0.5 per cent. Separate data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reveals that the average amount tenants actually paid across 2025 climbed 10.5 per cent in Montreal and 9.7 per cent in Quebec City, dwarfing growth recorded in Toronto and Vancouver.
Analysts point to a supply story rooted in the province’s building stock. The abundance of older duplex and triplex properties has long underpinned Quebec’s lower rental costs. But newly constructed buildings commanding premium prices are now intensifying competition for the cheapest units, pushing effective rents higher even as headline figures appear steady.
Cottage country draws city escapees with land and lifestyle
For younger Ontario buyers priced out of the urban market, the lure of a year-round rural retreat is proving increasingly difficult to resist.
Take Justin Maguire. The 39-year-old Australian transplant moved to Toronto in 2014 and initially rented while dipping his toe into rural ownership, purchasing a cottage for C$330,000 in 2019. After years of renovation work and a permaculture course that reshaped his ambitions, he sold the property in 2025 for C$565,000 and set out to find something with more acreage to grow his own food.
With a budget of C$800,000, Maguire weighed three properties in Prince Edward County, ranging from a vintage four-bedroom farmhouse to a waterfront three-bedroom home just outside his original search area. The final choice, as reported by The Globe and Mail, may surprise those who assume cottage country remains exclusively the preserve of the well-heeled.
Design essentials: choosing a backsplash that delivers
The kitchen backsplash rarely occupies the spotlight during a renovation — until it goes wrong. A poor choice becomes an unsightly Jackson Pollock of stains, grease and splatters; the right one quietly elevates the entire cooking experience while shielding walls from heat and moisture.
Design experts canvassed by The Globe and Mail recommend six materials that balance aesthetics, durability and ease of maintenance. From classic ceramic to contemporary composite slabs, the options cater to a wide range of budgets and visual sensibilities, though each carries trade-offs worth weighing before installation.
Property of the Week: a Simcoe County farmhouse reborn
A sprawling 57-acre estate in Creemore, Ontario, represents a rare blend of heritage charm and pastoral ambition. Located at 3554 Concession 3, the circa-1895 Victorian farmhouse was originally earmarked for development as a ski resort before Gordon and Patricia Cunningham purchased the neglected property in 1978.
The couple, drawn by the slopes carved into the nearby Niagara Escarpment, spent decades transforming the dwelling with help from their family and seven local brothers. Layers of paint were painstakingly stripped from the elaborate Victorian banister, while seventy-five garbage bags of sawdust were sanded away to reveal original pine and oak flooring. Subsequent additions — including a two-storey extension, sunroom, primary suite, kitchen with brick fireplace and a wraparound porch preserving the original gingerbread trim — have brought the home to six bedrooms, three full bathrooms and two powder rooms across 4,836 square feet of living space.
The grounds are equally impressive. Approximately 90,000 pine and cedar trees, alongside 900 black walnut saplings, have been planted across the property, which also features spring-fed ponds, a barn, an antique apple orchard, vegetable gardens, glacial boulders, a tobogganing hill and a small vineyard. The asking price is C$6,690,000.
Why it matters
The collision of geopolitical friction and domestic market dynamics is reshaping the calculus for Canadian households on multiple fronts. A prolonged trade dispute with the United States risks stalling a housing recovery that millions of owners and prospective buyers have been waiting on, while Quebec’s stubborn rental inflation highlights how regional supply constraints can insulate local markets from broader national trends. For those reconsidering their living arrangements — whether trading a city condo for a cottage or simply upgrading a kitchen — the coming months will demand both patience and sharper pricing discipline than the market has seen in years.
