Economic uncertainty reshapes buying and selling decisions
More than half of Canadians who own US residential properties are considering selling within the next year, according to a Royal LePage survey.
Of those planning to sell, 62% cited the current US political administration, while 33% pointed to reduced travel or financial factors, and 5% mentioned extreme weather risks. Canadians who already sold shared similar reasons, with 44% citing politics and 22% weather-related issues.
Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper noted that decisions to divest are not solely political. Some Canadians are opting to focus investments domestically or are finding the distance and upkeep of US properties challenging.
Meanwhile, US interest in Canadian real estate has surged during politically charged events, with Royal LePage reporting spikes in web traffic from US buyers during protests and elections.
Despite the sell-offs, only 32% of Canadians plan to reinvest their proceeds in the Canadian market, while 45% say they will not. Soper warned that US communities popular with Canadians—such as Florida, Arizona, and California—could see declines in local economic activity tied to Canadian homeowners.
The trend arrives with trade tensions between the US and Canada continuing. President Trump announced a wave of tariffs against Canada shortly after taking office in January, with last-ditch talks with Canadian government officials seeing those levies averted.
But the president has since pushed ahead with a new list of tariffs against Canada and other international trading partners, sparking a flurry of counter-measures as the Canadian government retaliated against the move.
Last week, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney announced that he was rolling back those counter-tariffs, meaning Canada's levies now match those of the US. Products that comply with the Canada-US-Mexico (CUSMA) Agreement have not been tariffed.
But there's still no sign of a trade deal between the two countries, meaning some of the sharpest cross-border tensions for decades are continuing.
