Biggest cities see biggest price drops as Canadian homebuyers react to economic uncertainty

Annual Price per Square Foot survey looks at prices back to 2018 for almost 50 Canadian communities – finds condo prices in metro markets dip while smaller Prairie and Atlantic communities shoot up

Vancouver (July 28, 2025) – Century 21 Canada’s annual Price per Square Foot survey reveals Canada has no one real estate story. The often talked about major urban markets of the GTA and Greater Vancouver area have seen price declines and, across the board, sales volumes have declined this year.

But less talked about is the contrast seen in some smaller communities in Atlantic Canada, Alberta, and the Prairies, where prices are up 10 – 30 per cent this year – but to rates still far below those in other metro centers.

The annual survey compares the price per square foot of properties sold in almost 50 communities, large and small and in every province, between January 1 and June 30 this year to the same period of previous years. In many cases, it has data going back to 2018 for both metro centers and smaller communities.

“We’ve seen huge variations in pricing trends in the first half of 2025, as people in different communities adjust to headlines and the uncertainty caused by the tariff situation in different ways,” says Todd Shyiak, Executive Vice President of CENTURY 21 Canada. “The GTA is seeing the toughest market in years, while we’re seeing price strength in some Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Atlantic Canada communities. Anecdotally, we are hearing from agents that many clients are seeking livable communities with lower real estate prices this year, continuing a trend we started seeing during the pandemic.”

He adds the survey looks at pricing trends over several years across Canada, and that this year the pricing data needs to be taken in context of overall sales volumes slowing due to economic uncertainty.

“That said, there are early signs the market became somewhat more active in June, at the end of our survey period, but overall we anticipate a “wait and see” approach from many prospective buyers and sellers for the rest of the year,” Shyiak says.

According to this year’s data Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba saw a continuation of past year’s upward price per square foot trends, indicating a sustained interest in the relatively affordable homes of the Prairie region. In that region larger markets generally saw smaller increases, even a few nominal declines, while mid-sized markets such as Red Deer, AB and Brandon, MB saw double-digit rises.
The steepest increases across the country were in the Atlantic region, with New Brunswick seeing a big price per square foot increase for detached homes in Fredericton and St. John. Elsewhere in Atlantic Canada, home prices by square foot decreased in St. John’s, NL, but remained on par with 2021 – 2022 benchmarks.

In the major city condo markets, the GTA experienced notable decreases, with most markets dipping to prices in line with those in 2022 and downtown Toronto dipping to the lowest level since 2018. Detached homes in the GTA have not been exempted, with Hamilton houses seeing the biggest percentage decrease in the region at 24 per cent. On the west coast, downtown Vancouver condos decreased in price a modest amount, though overall Metro Vancouver prices stepped back to about 2020 – 2021 levels as suburban house prices declined.

Notably, the sales volume in many metropolitan areas trended downward for the first half of this year, likely due to economic uncertainty caused by the tariffs imposed by the US, though many real estate boards report signs of an uptick going into the second half of the year.

Regional highlights:

Atlantic Canada

Markets in Atlantic Canada have been strong this year, especially in the New Brunswick region with Fredericton and St. John both seeing double-digit jumps in their detached home prices per square foot – still to levels below those in most other regions of Canada. Other markets saw more modest gains, and small dips can be observed in Halifax condos and Charlottetown detached homes. However, Halifax retained the jump in pricing seen after the 2021-2022 surge and Charlottetown remains above its 2023 benchmark, though remains one of the most affordable regions in the country.

“It’s definitely been a strong year,” says Krista Trask, agent with CENTURY 21 Sellers Choice in St. John’s, NL. “We’ve been kept busy and we’re seeing a lot of people who are more interested in moving here due to how affordable St. John’s is when compared to the rest of the country.”

“It was a little bit of a slow start in the first quarter, but June had strong numbers,” says Joel Ives with CENTURY 21 Colonial Realty in Charlottetown, PEI. “We had such an increase in the past five years that this year might have pumped the brakes a little and now our market has settled.”

British Columbia

After years of steady upward price growth, BC is seeing the effects of uncertain buyers as both prices and sales volumes dropped. In most cases price declines have been moderate, though detached homes in Burnaby dropped 12 per cent to $791 per square foot and townhouses in Victoria were down 13 per cent to $392 per square foot. Current prices in both cases are still above 2021 levels, after steep increases in 2022 and 2023. In Chilliwack prices have cooled and remained steady after substantial gains since 2020.

In BC’s interior, the pattern of steady pricing continues, with moderate losses and gains. Kelowna saw losses between two to six per cent in all housing types except townhomes, which held steady. As buyers look for cheaper alternatives to the Greater Vancouver area, they might have to go farther outfield – new to the survey this year is Kitimat, which has the lowest PPSF in the country, with townhomes going for $168 per square foot.

Rhiannon Foster, an agent with CENTURY 21 In Town in Vancouver, BC, notes that this year has been a rollercoaster for buyers and sellers in the Lower Mainland. “We started off strong this year, but then came the complications from the tariffs and we saw a pause happen,” she explains. “In my experience, sellers are holding to their prices because they don’t have to sell immediately.

Right now, what I’m seeing is that sales are starting to pick up but we’re about to go into August, when real estate is not a top priority for people. So we’ll see a slowdown over the next few weeks no matter what, but we do expect a lot of inventory to come back in September. If there are sellers waiting, they’ll have competition then.”

Quebec

The price per square foot increases in the Montreal market of years past have continued on an upward trend, with condo prices rising 5 per cent to about the same level as they were in 2022, while detached house prices rose almost eight per cent.

Sebastien Bonnerot, Vice President of CENTURY 21 Quebec in Gatineau, Quebec notes that the price trends in Montreal have settled into a comfortable spot for future growth. “We’re not seeing the big jumps in prices that we saw four to five years ago, but we’ve also moved past that short period of decline that happened around 2023. The market in the Montreal area is strong, we have a lot of young buyers who want a city lifestyle and like the culture and affordability that Montreal has to offer, compared to markets in Ontario.”

Ontario

Ontario, more than any other region of the country, is feeling the most negative effects of the uncertain economic conditions. Condo and house prices in most GTA markets are down, most notably in Toronto proper, where condo prices dipped almost 12 per cent, and in Markham, where detached home prices dropped 22 percent.

Outside of the GTA, pricing changes were more moderate and mixed, with Ottawa emerging as a more popular market and seeing price increases – 22 per cent up for detached houses.

Nelson Goulart, with CENTURY 21 Signature Service, sees how buyers and sellers have hesitated to jump into the market. “They tend to take a position of ‘wait and see,’ similar to the 90’s. There are different factors now, but they’re concerned about qualifying at higher interest rates and once that uncertainly lifts, that’s when they’ll jump in.

“The market has perked up in the last few weeks, and at the end of the day, uncertainty will pass. There may be opportunity now to buy at reduced rates as long as people are looking for long-term investments and looking at the ‘why’ of their decision to purchase a home.”

Prairies

Overall, prices in the prairies were strong compared to the rest of the country. Only condos in Winnipeg fell in price, and then by just 1.5 per cent, while condos in Brandon, Manitoba saw the highest increases – riding 22 per cent in price per square foot. The relative affordability of this region continues to draw buyers looking for more value for their dollar.

Gary Busch, from CENTURY 21 Fusion in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, notes that his province is the tortoise in the race – no huge changes, but steadily moving forward. “We’re probably going to see a big jump next year,” he notes. “We have jobs, and immigration both from within and outside of Canada. The people who come here are all skilled workers with above-average jobs, with good wages, so we’re building houses as fast as we can, and we have the advantage of still being affordable.”

Alberta

Alberta holds the distinction of being the only region that saw no drops in price per square foot, continuing a strong market trend observed in recent years. There are signs that some of the fervor around Calgary may have cooled – prices rose by less than one per cent – but smaller towns such as High River, Okotoks and Red Deer continued to see increases.

CENTURY 21 Canada’s annual survey of data on the price per square foot (PPSF) of properties gathers and compares sales data from its franchises across Canada from January 1 to June 30 of each year. By looking at the price per square foot at the same time each year the firm is able to get a good idea of how prices have changed over time for similar properties. This year’s survey compares 2024 prices with this year’s results.

Price Per Square Foot Survey Results 2025