'Trump tariff curse' on Canada real estate market, only Toronto properties finding buyers

Time of India

09-05-2025

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The Donald Trump curse
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US President Donald Trump's trade war against Canada has hit the real estate market too. Almost all the major cities in Canada are facing the prospects of a slowdown in the real estate market with Toronto being the major exception.While property prices in Toronto are witnessing a surge in May 2025, other big cities are staring at uncertainty due to the US-Canada trade war. Trump's policies aimed at Canada have resulted in a slowdown in sales and price adjustments in the property market.Housing and real estate agents, too, are admitting to the slowdown and say they are employing various strategies, including setting "too-good-to-be-true" asking prices, to attract buyers in a market grappling with economic anxieties and fluctuating sales. They point to a interplay of factors, including trade tensions with Canada more powerful southern neighbour, the federal election results that brough back the Liberal Party to power, and regional economic conditions.Even as the rest of Canada is not on strong ground as far as real estate prices are concerned, property sellers in Toronto are quickly listing properties, aiming to capitalize on the remaining weeks of the traditional spring market. The end of the federal election has removed at least one source of uncertainty for buyers.Andre Kutyan of Harvey Kalles Real Estate launched a five-bedroom detached house at 199 Alexandra Boulevard after the election. The asking price was $4.395-million. 'I saw a slew of listings come out on the Tuesday,' he says of the day after the election.However, sales are yet to pick up while suppliers to the real estate market are busy, indicating a rise in fresh supply. .In March, Kutyan listed a five-bedroom detached house at 65 Glengowan Glengowan Raod. with an asking price of $9.995-million. He sold the property, situated in the area with large private homes, in April for $9-million.But the situation is not rosy for properties with a price tag of above $10-million. 'There's a lot of stuff sitting in Lawrence Park right now that's not moving.'At 210 Gowan Avenue in East York, Kutyan listed a two-bedroom detached house with an asking price of $699,000. The homeowners paid $1.05-million for the house in 2023 and the asking price two years later is a massive downgrade.After going through 20 offers from different buyers, the deal was finally inked at a much better price than what was offered. The final price - $986,000.While Kutyan is able to sell properties in Toronto, other real estate agents watch in amazement.Bosley Real Estate's Davelle Morrison is finding it tough to get hold of a buyer for a detached house near Eglington Avenue West and Keele Street priced at $799,000.Davelle has had no luck till now and she now plans to come out with a new and lower price to attract buyers. She faced a similar situation with a Yorkville triplex listed above $2-million in February and blames Trump for the crisis.'I haven't seen it like this before,' she says of the slow pace. 'It's the Trump tariff curse.'Those who bought properties between 2021 and 2023 are the hardest hit as prices were booming then. Now, they are left with no choice but to sell at a major discount.According to Davelle, properties priced above $2 million are a definite no-go for potential buyers. She also predicts the market will come down further as supplies increase and May 2025.Prices are holding in the local market. The median selling price of a house is $1.29 million, townhouses $820,000, and apartments $539,000.Veteran Realtor Ron Antalek said the market conditions are not unfamiliar."The 1990's was like this for 10 years. The current market is very competitive for sellers, and allows for good value purchases for buyers and good interest rates for mortgages," said Antalek.The total number of properties listed for sale in Metro Vancouver is 16,207.A Royal Bank of Canada report indicates Canada's housing market is 'cracking' under the weight of the US trade war. Housing resales are down in markets across the country.The sharpest pullback has been in southern Ontario and British Columbia.Home prices have been falling and inventories rising in Vancouver, B.C.'s Fraser Valley, and Toronto. Other Ontario markets that saw property values decline are Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Cambridge.Calgary saw annual home prices decline for the first time in five years.The number of new listings in Toronto rose by 8.1 per cent, but resales plummeted by 23.3 per cent. Hogue said Toronto's housing market was in a 'downturn.'Calgary saw new listings rise by 15.7 per cent, but sales dropped by 22.3 per cent. The largest drop in home sales came in the Fraser Valley, with new sales declining by 29.1 per cent.Home resales in Montreal have largely stabilized, down 0.2 per cent.Trump's trade war is 'clogging the market's arteries,' said Clay Jarvis, mortgage expert at NerdWallet Canada.