Canadian homebuyers appear to be back in action, with fresh data showing a notable resurgence in real estate transactions after a period of uncertainty and sluggishness. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), home sales across the country climbed 6.6 percent in July 2025 compared to the same month last year, marking the fourth consecutive monthly increase and signaling what experts describe as a long-awaited rebound in the housing market.
In concrete terms, 45,973 homes changed hands in July 2025, up from 43,122 in July 2024. This uptick continues a trend that began in the spring: transactions have now risen a cumulative 11.2 percent since March, and July alone saw a 3.8 percent jump over June’s numbers. For many in the industry, these figures are a breath of fresh air after months of handwringing over interest rates, economic uncertainty, and the fallout from an earlier Canada-U.S. trade dispute that had cast a long shadow over the market.
“With sales posting a fourth consecutive increase in July, and almost four percent at that, the long-anticipated post-inflation crisis pickup in housing seems to have finally arrived,” said CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart in a press release, as reported by The Canadian Press. He added, “Looking ahead a little bit, it will be interesting to see how buyers react to the burst of new supply that typically shows up in the first half of September.”
Digging into the numbers, it’s clear that the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has been the engine behind much of the national surge. Transactions in the GTA have rebounded by a remarkable 35.5 percent since March 2025, making it the undisputed leader in Canada’s housing recovery. But the story doesn’t end there—other regions are also seeing significant gains. For example, in the London and St. Thomas region, home sales were up 27.4 percent in July compared to the previous year. Adam Miller, broker and manager of Royal LePage Triland Realty, described the mood among buyers as cautiously optimistic: “I think a lot of buyers just said, ‘OK, the rate changes haven’t happened, it seems like the market is pretty stable, prices are probably close to as low as they’ve been for the last little while.’ So I think a lot of the buyers decided to show up and have a little summer surprise.”
This renewed confidence is echoed by economists. TD’s Rishi Sondhi noted that “pent-up demand temporarily sidelined earlier in the year returned to markets with some force last month.” He explained, “Indeed, it looks as though the sales recovery that should have happened earlier in the year after significant (interest) rate relief in 2024 was simply delayed some months.” Sondhi believes that a reduction in economic uncertainty could bring even more buyers back into the market in British Columbia and Ontario, especially if the Bank of Canada continues to provide rate relief. Still, he cautioned that challenges remain, including stretched affordability in several provinces and a weaker job market.
It’s worth remembering why the market had slowed in the first place. Home sales in many regions had plummeted in the wake of the Canada-U.S. trade dispute earlier in 2025, with tariffs and counter-tariffs sparking significant economic jitters. According to real estate analysts cited by The Canadian Press, this uncertainty kept a lot of would-be buyers on the sidelines, waiting for a clearer picture to emerge. Miller described the sentiment as shifting from “the sky was falling” to a more measured optimism: “People are kind of like, ‘Oh, everything seems to be OK still, maybe we’ll start moving forward with our plans to get a new home, into a first-time home, things like that.’”
On the supply side, new listings across Canada inched up 0.1 percent month-over-month by the end of July. At that point, there were 202,500 properties listed for sale nationwide—up 10.1 percent from a year earlier, and right in line with the long-term average for this time of year. This increase in available homes could give buyers more options and help temper any sudden price spikes, though it’s not yet clear how the market will react as the traditional fall surge in listings arrives.
Price-wise, the national average sale price for a home in July was $672,784, representing a modest 0.6 percent increase from July 2024. CREA’s own home price index, which aims to reflect the sale of typical homes, was unchanged between June and July 2025—a sign, perhaps, that the market is finding its equilibrium after a rollercoaster couple of years.
Robert Kavcic, a senior economist at BMO, described the housing market as “very balanced and stable” throughout the summer, though he noted that significant regional variations persist. “At the national level, sales have steadily climbed back toward longer-term norms, inventory is elevated but not overly saturating the market, and prices are effectively flat,” Kavcic wrote in a note cited by The Canadian Press. “In markets where price corrections are ongoing, we seem to be getting closer to levels that are bringing some buyers off the sidelines.”
But the story isn’t uniform across the country. While the GTA and London have seen robust rebounds, other regions are still contending with affordability challenges and lingering economic headwinds. Sondhi pointed out that, despite the recent uptick in sales, “barriers remain, such as stretched affordability in several provinces and a weaker job market.” These factors, he suggested, could keep some prospective buyers waiting on the sidelines, at least for now.
Looking ahead, industry watchers are keeping a close eye on the usual burst of new supply that typically arrives in early September. Cathcart of CREA is among those who are curious about how buyers will respond: “Looking ahead a little bit, it will be interesting to see how buyers react to the burst of new supply that typically shows up in the first half of September.” For now, though, the consensus among economists and realtors is that the Canadian housing market is on much firmer footing than it was just a few months ago.
As the dust settles from a turbulent period marked by trade disputes, shifting interest rates, and economic uncertainty, Canadian homebuyers and sellers alike are finding a new sense of stability. The numbers speak for themselves: sales are up, inventory is healthy, and prices have leveled off. Whether this marks the beginning of a sustained recovery or just a temporary reprieve remains to be seen, but for now, there’s a cautious optimism in the air—and perhaps, for many, a renewed sense of possibility.