Mortgage professionals gearing up for a productive second half of the year despite continuing tariff turbulence
Canada’s sleepy housing market isn’t set to burst into life anytime soon, with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) recently trimming its expectations for home sales by the end of the year.
Stubbornly high interest rates and trade tensions with the US are continuing to cast a shadow over the homebuying outlook – and those challenges are likely to see 2025 sales come in 3% lower than last year, CREA said this week.
But for mortgage brokers, that doesn’t exactly mean a quiet second half of the year is in store. The market may be noticeably cooler, but homebuyers are still out there and ready to make their move.
In Alberta, Spire Mortgage’s Renée Huse (pictured top) told Canadian Mortgage Professional plenty of buyers were active in the market – with the pendulum swinging away from sellers and towards more balanced conditions.
“We’re seeing inventory building. But if houses are listed at an appropriate price, I’m still seeing clients write offers within days of a listing coming up,” she said, “and even multiple offers in a few circumstances when you’ve got a very marketable property listed at a [reasonable] price.”
Albertan housing markets were spared some of the enormous price appreciation that took place in cities like Toronto and Vancouver at the height of the low-rate pandemic environment, although home values have been steadily on the rise in recent years.
That’s partly because buyers from outside the province set their sights on purchasing a home there due to better affordability – and while interest rates aren’t likely to fall sharply anytime soon, Huse said there’s still evidence of strong demand hoping to enter the market.
“I think the market will continue to be strong,” she said. “There’s certainly some pent-up demand from clients that didn’t get into the market during the runup [in prices] we’ve seen the last few years. So I think from a real estate perspective, no-one’s putting the lights out in Alberta.”
Kingsley Ma, Area Vice President at RE/MAX Canada, suggests now is an opportune time for first-time buyers due to moderate interest rates and increased choice, allowing for negotiation. https://t.co/CteuGetMHx
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) July 23, 2025
Market opportunities open up – for certain buyer types
CREA’s latest report suggested that now could be the right time for buyers to make their move, even with fixed rates on the up and variable rates unlikely to see any movement for a month or two at least.
Prospects have brightened for some homebuyers – “those who have job security and want to lock down a home for the long term” – because inventory is well up across the country compared to last year, the association said.
For other hopeful homebuyers, though, the likelihood of purchasing has been dented by the trade war launched by US president Donald Trump earlier this year, a development that potentially puts tens of thousands of Canadian jobs at risk and plunges the economy into uncertainty.
Still, Valérie Paquin, chair of CREA’s 2025-26 board of directors, suggested some of those buyers could be tempted off the sidelines if progress in US-Canada talks continues. “If the spring market was mostly held back by economic uncertainty, barring any further big shocks, that delayed activity could very likely surface this summer and into the fall,” she said.
Financial struggles elevate brokers’ importance
Unsurprisingly, brokers are also gearing up to field plenty of calls outside the purchase market, with a wave of mortgages coming up for renewals at higher interest rates and many homeowners facing mounting cost-of-living challenges.
In April, a H&R Block Canada survey showed that nearly three-quarters of Canadians worry they’re not putting enough towards savings, while 46% overall do not feel good about their current personal financial situation.
Huse said she’s focusing beyond the purchase market and emphasizing the value brokers can offer clients in helping improve their overall financial picture.
That approach will keep business coming through the door, she said, even when purchase applications dip. “From a mortgage perspective, it’s going to be very busy again, just with clients really seeking that holistic advice about their overall financial portfolio,” she explained. “I think these clients really need some advice, so we’re going to continue to have a ton of questions.
“And I think those long conversations on the phone with clients are going to be incredibly important as we move through the back end of the year, just because there’s so much uncertainty political and economically in the market.”
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