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Hamilton Spectator
18-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Toronto's ultra-luxury real estate market sees whopping 200 per cent increase in sales
The Toronto-area ultra-luxury real estate market defied troubling economic headwinds with a whopping 200 per cent increase in sales in the first half of 2025 over the same time last year. According to Sotheby's International Realty Canada's 2025 'Mid-Year State of Luxury Report,' residential sales in Canada's largest luxury real estate market declined in the first half of 2025 as uncertainty slowed activity. But the region's ultra-luxury real estate saw 12 sales for homes over $10 million in the first half of 2025, compared to four sales for the same period last year. 'Typically, this price range for the homes that are over $10 million takes longer to sell, as these buyers tend to be more selective,' said Dianne Usher, a managing broker at Sotheby's International Realty Canada. 'But we have more sellers in this market and buyers had more selection and when they see what they want they go for it. It was the right mix of buyers and inventory in the first two quarters of 2025.' Sotheby's experts also reported an increase in ultra-luxury real estate transactions occurring 'off-market' as sellers increasingly sought greater discretion and privacy in the sale of their properties. These are typically public figures, such as politicians, athletes, entertainers, who don't want anyone to know they were in the marketplace, Usher said. Despite these gains, luxury residential real estate sales over $4 million for all property types saw a decline in the first half of 2025, falling 28 per cent year-over-year to 222 properties sold between Jan. 1 and June 30. Sales of properties priced over $1 million experienced a 23 per cent annual decline to 13,563 units sold in the first half of 2025. Buyers in these price ranges were more impacted by economic uncertainty with the U.S. and are waiting on the sidelines to see how the market reacts. Within the city of Toronto, luxury residential real estate activity was also muted, as prospective buyers delayed decisions. Overall, sales of top-tier properties over $1 million declined 13 per cent annually to 4,951 properties sold in the first six months of the year, while sales over $4 million fell 23 per cent year-over-year to 142 properties sold in the first half of 2025. Despite this general trajectory, ultra-luxury transactions over $10 million more than doubled to seven properties sold, compared to three sold in the same period a year prior. Luxury single-family homes in prestigious neighbourhoods near top-tier schools, including Leaside, Riverdale, Upper Forest Hill, High Park and The Kingsway, remain coveted by prospective buyers, the report said. Buyer's market conditions remained pervasive across the GTA's luxury condominium segment in the first half of 2025, as inventory surged, purchasing timelines lengthened, and price negotiations skewed in favour of prospective buyers, the report said. Buyers also prioritized longer closings, Usher said, as those downsizing need time to sell their bigger, single-family home properties.


The Province
16-07-2025
- Business
- The Province
Metro Vancouver real estate has cooled, luxury level gone ice cold in 2025
Metro Vancouver real estate sales generally were down almost 10 per cent in June, but at the luxury level, sales have been down 51 per cent over the first six months of 2025. Tanis Fritz, managing broker for Sotheby's International Realty Canada in Vancouver. Fritz commented on Sotheby's 2025 mid-year luxury real estate report, which showed top-end sales in Metro down 51 per cent over the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period of Handout courtesy of Sotheby's International Realty Canada. Photo by Myshsael Schleycher Real estate sales in Metro Vancouver generally have remained cool so far in 2025, but have gone ice cold at the top end with the wealthiest buyers taking a 'wait and see' perspective on uncertainties weighing on the economy, according to a report from Sotheby's International Realty. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sales in Metro Vancouver's luxury tier, which Sotheby's defines as homes over $4 million, fell by 51 per cent in the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period of 2024, with just 85 properties changing hands. 'I'm not surprised,' said Sotheby's Vancouver managing broker Tanis Fritz. 'It's a really delicate balance in Vancouver as it is in other premier cities around the world. The economic uncertainty is really almost unprecedented right now.' On top of that, Fritz said she thinks 'there's a lack of global confidence in Vancouver as a stable real estate market,' related to the additional property transfer tax levied on foreign buyers since 2016. 'I don't think we've ever really recovered from 2016 and the changes that were imposed,' Fritz said. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Sotheby's released its report in the same week the B.C. Real Estate Association issued June sales results from across the province that showed an improvement from May, but remained 23 per cent below the 10 year average, mainly because of weaker sales in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. 'Until broader uncertainties are resolved, we expect overall housing activity in the most expensive areas of the province to continue lagging behind other regions that have steadily recovered since the onset of tariff uncertainty,' BCREA chief economist Brendan Ogmundson said in a news release. Fritz said that while luxury buyers are 'often less sensitive to financial constraints,' they are still holding off for a lot of the same reasons: trade tensions with the U.S. and rising household expenses. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Insurance increases is a big one as well, because of extreme weather events,' Fritz added. 'They've really dampened buyer confidence.' 'Rather than really accelerating their transactions right now, they're just pumping the brakes a little bit and being a bit more strategic,' Fritz said. Buyers are viewing listings, but holding off to 'see if something better comes along,' Fritz said. She noted seeing a couple of instances where purchasers have been 'the first buyer through the door at a new listing.' 'Ultimately you're going to be able to negotiate a better price on day 45 than on day one,' Fritz said. Fritz said she hasn't done a full analysis on prices, but said benchmark prices for June were similar to what they were in January. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The B.C. Real Estate Association's June average price in greater Vancouver for all property types, $1.27 million, was down 5.7 per cent year over year. Vancouver's decline in sales was deeper compared with Toronto's luxury market, which saw a 28 per cent drop in transactions over $4 million. That is in contrast to Montreal, where the high-end market 'defied national headwinds,' with sales of homes worth more than $4 million up 22 per cent in the first half of 2025. Calgary's luxury market also 'remained buoyant in the first half of 2025' with population gains in Alberta and 'enduring consumer confidence' offsetting some of the uncertainties related to U.S. trade and volatility in oil prices. For Toronto and Vancouver, the Sotheby's report noted that the high-end condominium market in both cities, however, 'remained under pressure' due to rising inventories. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That is in line with Vancouver's chapter of the Urban Development Institute's observations that Metro Vancouver's inventory of new, unsold units in housing developments is expected to soar to 3,500 by the end of 2025. Fritz said buyer preference at the top end leans toward single-family homes they intend to hold long term and that the market has seen less 'turnover' activity, buyers purchasing condos with plans to hold for a few years before 'moving up.' 'What I'm seeing is a lot of downsizing,' Fritz said. What is driving the sales that are happening are the family events that happen regardless of economic uncertainty: marriages, the birth of children, separations and the end of life, which Fritz characterized as the 'four Ds, diamonds, diapers, divorce and death.' depenner@ Read More News News Celebrity Crime Local News


Toronto Star
16-07-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
Toronto's ultra-luxury real estate market sees whopping 200 per cent increase in sales
The Toronto-area ultra-luxury real estate market defied troubling economic headwinds with a whopping 200 per cent increase in sales in the first half of 2025 over the same time last year. According to Sotheby's International Realty Canada's 2025 'Mid-Year State of Luxury Report,' residential sales in Canada's largest luxury real estate market declined in the first half of 2025 as uncertainty slowed activity. But the region's ultra-luxury real estate saw 12 sales for homes over $10 million in the first half of 2025, compared to four sales for the same period last year.


Ottawa Citizen
06-06-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Homes: Trade war turmoil not impacting luxury real estate: Sotheby's
A new report from Sotheby's International Realty Canada reveals that while sales of $1 million-plus properties declined by 29 per cent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, there is room for optimism particularly when it comes to luxury properties. Article content Findings indicate that the 'ultra-luxury market for properties over $10 million stood out as one of the nation's rare real estate strongholds in the first quarter of 2025.' Article content Article content Article content The report also notes that a promising rebound in Canadian real estate early at the start of 2025 was swiftly derailed by rising Canada–U.S. trade tensions, the threat and implementation of tariffs and counter-tariffs, and growing macroeconomic volatility. Article content The good news, according to Dianne Usher, the senior director of talent growth and managing broker in Ontario with Sotheby's, is that the confidence tide may be turning and not only for high-priced homes and condos. Article content 'The reason is, is we're sensing a stability entering the marketplace,' she said. 'Here in Ontario, we've got two elections over and done with, we seem to have some sense of stability coming in terms of our relationship with our greatest ally, and that's boding well for confidence coming back to the spring market.' Article content There is, said Usher, also multiple offers coming in for various properties, which is a good sign. Article content Article content Effi Barak, president of Sotheby's Canadian operation, said that 'Toronto's ultra-luxury single-family home market, particularly in its most prestigious neighbourhoods, remains poised for activity. Article content 'While buyers are increasingly selective — negotiating assertively and prepared to wait for the 'perfect' home – there is underlying strength in this segment. Article content · Calgary's luxury real estate market remains 'well-positioned to withstand tariff threats and economic risks given its growth momentum from 2024. Following a record-setting population boom in 2024 that boosted Calgary's population by 6.14% year-over-year, the city remains positioned for growth in 2025, as the province of Alberta, added 28,496 new residents in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the last quarter of 2024 according to Statistics Canada, the largest net gain of population over other Canadian provinces and territories.'


Toronto Sun
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Filmmaker Jewison's 'creative space' in Toronto selling for $7.9M
Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison's home office inside 18 Gloucester Lane which is now up for sale for $7.9 million. Photo by Sotheby's You can live and work in the same creative space as Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison once did in Toronto for over four decades. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 18 Gloucester Lane, whose laneway entrance is tucked behind Yonge St., has gone on the market for $7,900,000, according to Sotheby's International Realty Canada, who listed it. 'From within these walls, major cinematic works were developed, produced, and edited,' the listing states. 'The building became an engine of cinematic output that blended Hollywood calibre with Canadian sensibility.' The two-and-a-half bedroom, 10-bath home has a 9,727 sq. ft. living space and a 2,100 sq. ft. lot size. Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison's 'creative space' for four decades in Toronto, 18 Gloucester Lane, has been listed for sale for $7.9 million. Photo by Sotheby's International Realty Canada 'Built in 1912 and thoughtfully modernized, this five storey buff brick building remains one of Toronto's most evocative landmarks, offering discretion, provenance and unmatched centrality,' the listing states. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Behind its timeless façade lies over 9,700 square feet of space, scaled and grounded by heritage character – arched windows, exposed brick and beam, and expansive industrial proportions.' RECOMMENDED VIDEO The building is fully leased to professional tenants across the lower four floors, 'but the private fifth floor penthouse residence is layered with cinematic soul and vintage warmth. Natural light animates the custom millwork, exposed walls and beams. Large windows frame views of Norman Jewison Park, while a dramatic herringbone brick fireplace anchors the central salon. And a concealed staircase leads to a tranquil primary suite above,' says the listing. A brick fireplace dominates the living room of 18 Gloucester Lane, the creative space of Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison. (Sotheby's International Realty Canada.) Photo by Sotheby's International Canada Located within the Historic Yonge Street Heritage Conservation District, buyers of the building 'could continue it as a boutique investment property, adapt it to a private family office or foundation, a design studio or gallery, or reimagine it as a fully integrated live/work residence,' says the listing. Its annual municipal taxes are $44,480. The Toronto-born Jewison, whose most famous films included In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler On The Roof, and Moonstruck, died in 2024 at the age of 97. Tennis World Sports Toronto Maple Leafs Sunshine Girls