An obsessive focus on the 'bonkers' Toronto crisis is skewing perceptions of Canada's housing market, brokers say
Crashing condo markets, skyrocketing prices, and a booming population have led to a housing market defined by melancholy. However, Canada’s obsession with Toronto may be the driver behind this perception of the real estate market.
Across Canada, real estate data reveals a patchwork market that defies the dominant narrative. While Toronto remains a focal point, particularly as its once-booming condo sector falters, other cities are experiencing very different trends.
“When I see news stories about real estate, home ownership, mortgage information, I tend to give it a quick glance and see if any of that applies at all to Saskatchewan,” Sky Sorenson, a mortgage broker with The Mortgage Associates in Saskatoon, told Canadian Mortgage Professional.
“Usually it does not,” he said. “Those news articles seem to be dominated by the rather bonkers Toronto condo market.”
Lately, Toronto’s condo has been making headlines as it descends into a ‘nightmare’. Last month the city saw the worst May for the housing market in 20 years. Housing prices are down 4% while the average price of a home is still out of reach for most Canadians, sitting at an intimidating $1.1 million.
Toronto’s condo market faces sliding prices and mortgage hurdles for investors, but mortgage broker Paul Meredith says buyers aiming to live in condos now see rare opportunities amid easing competition.https://t.co/zaow4IZgkJ
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) May 20, 2025
Other cities tell a different story
Saskatoon is currently seeing an increased demand that is limiting supply and in turn driving up prices. The number of sales was down 11% year over year this April, but prices continue to set records with the benchmark price sitting at $422,600, a 7% increase since last April.
This trend is not limited to Saskatoon and indeed extends to many major cities across Canada.
Montreal, Canada’s second largest metropolitan centre, has been seeing notable growth. Compared to the first quarter of 2024, the average price of a home in Montreal is up 7.9%.
Even Ottawa, the second largest city in Ontario, has been seeing an upward trend. While modest compared to other provinces, the housing market saw sales increase 1% year over year this April, a trend going in the opposite direction of Toronto.
Real effects on brokers
Canada’s Toronto obsession is having real effects on brokers. Sky Sorenson said that many first-time buyers he encounters have a preconceived distorted and discouraged view of the market.
“A lot of folks I'm talking to who are potential first-time home buyers are still feeling kind of left out,” said Sorenson.
He said that he often has conversations with people who would like to own a home but are scared off by the daunting headlines coming out of Toronto. Many times, conversations like this happen outside the office.
“I'd say I probably get half a dozen new applications after those each year because I went to play beach volleyball or curling or something and I told someone that it's not as gloomy as they think,” Sorenson said.
In Winnipeg where the market is trending upward, Tracy Spooner, broker and owner of the Spooner Group, said that she has had a similar experience with the perception of the market. “Especially the average number [price of a house]... for me at least doesn't seem very representative.”
Meanwhile in her corner of the market she said every house selling is inundated with multiple offers and is sell over asking, a far cry from the downward spiral in Toronto.
“Anything you're reading online is not reflective of Winnipeg at all,” said Spooner.
Issues remain nationwide
However, that’s not to say that Canada’s market is in rude good health outside Toronto, and even in more resilient cities glaring issues remain.
Sorenson was quick to point out that the rental market is increasingly becoming out of reach for many. He said that many neighborhoods previously dominated by rental properties have been getting eaten by those looking to buy.
“it's fantastic for our clients,” he said – but “it also makes things difficult for housing of some of the most vulnerable in our in our society.”
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