The last five years have taken Ontario’s housing market on a turbulent ride, marked by sharp rises and steep downturns. New insights from Teranet’s latest Market Insight Report, drawing from 2024 Ontario land registry data, provide a clearer view of how pandemic-fuelled market activity culminated across the province. 

The report explores trends such as a boom in new condo completions, mounting pressure on buyers who purchased homes during the peak and the emergence of single-party multi-property investors as major market players.

Condos accounted for more than 65% of sales in Toronto in 2024

In Toronto, condos made up the majority of property transfers, accounting for more than 65 per cent of all sales in 2024. But there’s more happening beneath the surface.

The city’s resale condo market was sluggish, marking its lowest activity in a decade. Yet, this downturn contrasts directly with a boom in newly completed condos. About 15,000 new condo units became ready for occupancy in 2024, a 78 per cent jump over the previous year.

“This flood of about 15,000 new condo properties that became available in 2024 was an important piece of data to fully understand the condo market,” the report states, suggesting the abundance of new units could partly explain the quiet resale market.

An eye-opening number of Canadians still approach mortgage shopping like it’s a bake sale run by their grandmother.

According to fresh data from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRAO), nearly half of folks believe banks will treat them fairly — the kind of blind faith usually reserved for seeing-eye dogs and weather apps before a wedding.

Alberta is the only province making the most of Canada’s most valuable natural resource—young workers. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) interprovincial migration data shows it was the only province that managed to attract young workers, aged 25 to 45 years old. This demographic is critical to regions, driving economic growth and long-term prosperity. It’s the only affordable province that continues to make net gains from other provinces, proving they’re doing more than just providing affordable housing. Alberta is actually trying to win them over, and it’s working. 

Why Young Workers Are Better Than Gold—Even Black Gold 

Young workers are one of the most important demographics for understanding a region’s future. These workers, between 25 and 44 years old, are at peak productivity, driving consumption (homes, cars, families) and taking career risks (entrepreneurship, big investments). Their migration patterns reveal which regions are primed for real opportunities, not just cheap housing. 

It also happens to be important years for risk, which plays a large part in developing a career and wealth. These are the years that people take big bets such as rapid career development or entrepreneurship. Since wealth and retirement are also primarily based on compounding investments, the success at this age can also determine the future prosperity of its population.  

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will make housing one of his top economic priorities for his incoming government.

In the April 28 federal election, Carney and the Liberals defeated Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives, obtaining a minority government. Now that the campaign is over, the prime minister and the Grits will get to work and submit policies to grapple with some of the nation’s biggest challenges.

The prime minister, in his first press conference since winning the election, vowed to transform Canada’s economy as the country engages in battles at home and abroad. A key plank of his government’s priorities will be housing, pledging to “create an entirely new Canadian housing industry.”

As part of a broader effort to double the pace of homebuilding to approximately 500,000 new homes per year, Carney has revealed several key ideas to achieve this lofty aim:

• Extend $25 billion in financing for prefabricated home builders.
• Eliminate the GST on new homes priced between $1 million and $1.5 million. The GST will also be removed for first-time buyers for newly-built homes below $1 million.
• Lower municipal development charges for multi-unit residential housing.
• Cap immigration levels to ease housing demand pressures.

In addition, the former head of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England will establish Build Canada Homes, a government agency overseeing affordable housing development.