Real estate expert says it's a ‘great time of entry' for homebuyers in the GTA
'Housing prices have gone down, which means that they're more affordable of course, so I think (when you look at) the overall environment, it's actually a great time of entry for buyers,' Cailey Heaps, president & CEO of the Heaps Estrin Real Estate Team, told BNN Bloomberg on Friday.
The average GTA selling price fell 5.4 per cent year-over-year last month to $1,101,691, according to data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). The composite benchmark price, meant to represent a typical home, was down 5.5 per cent.
Overall home sales in June were also down compared to a year earlier, TRREB said, however seasonally adjusted home sales were up more than eight per cent from May, as the market 'continued to show signs of recovery.'
The sluggishness in the housing market throughout most of the first half of 2025 didn't come as a surprise to Heaps, who said economic and political uncertainty at home and abroad kept many potential buyers on the sidelines.
'The first and second quarters of this year have been marked by so much geopolitical uncertainty that a lot of people took a 'wait-and-see' approach,' she said.
'So, there was still inventory coming to market but there was a lower absorption rate, so of course that's going to push pricing down. So, in short, I was not surprised, but we are starting to see some positive signs in the market.'
The board said on Friday that a trade deal with the U.S., as well as further interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada, would go a long way in aiding the recovery of the Canadian housing market.
'We've been in an environment where there's been so much uncertainty, be it the political situation with the U.S., our own election, and then of course the developments overseas... it's been one issue after another that's caused people to just want to pause and watch the market,' Heaps said.
'So, if we could have a trade agreement in place with the U.S. that provided some certainty, I think that would certainly help with consumer confidence.'
Interest rate cuts would also 'fuel the market,' Heaps said. The Bank of Canada has held its overnight interest rate steady at 2.75 per cent for two consecutive decisions, following seven straight cuts from the central bank dating back to June of last year.
Heaps noted that despite the need for more cuts eventually, the rate environment remains a declining one.
'We are more affordable than we have been for many years,' she said.
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