Market update Dec 2025: Will slow and steady win the race?

Both the sales and rental markets are behaving much as they usually do heading into winter. The numbers give part of the picture, but property managers can get a clearer sense of who’s moving in, why, and what’s driving demand by diving into more PayProp Insights articles.

• Rentals.ca reports the national average asking rent dipped slightly from $2,123 in September to $2,105 in October.

• Rentals.ca points to a typical fall slowdown, while another PayProp Insights article highlights that a fall in international student numbers is softening rents in student-heavy cities.

• October’s annual decline eased to 2.2%, the smallest in almost a year, suggesting the market is levelling out.

• And once again, three-bedroom purpose-built rentals were the only unit type to post an annual increase, up 3.5% to $2,767, as more renters turn to shared living to keep costs down.

• Meanwhile, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reports an average national home price of $690,195 in October – up 2.1% from September but down 0.9% year over year.  

• Ontario continues to have among the highest average home prices in the country (second only to British Columbia) at $833,376 – up 0.5% from last month’s average.

• According to CREA, home sales were up 0.9% from September to October.

• Every province except Ontario shifted back into seller’s market territory, based on sales-to-new-listings ratios, leaving Ontario as the lone balanced market.

• CREA Chair Valérie Paquin expects activity to remain quiet through winter, as is typical for the season, but notes that “all eyes will be on next year’s spring market to see if all that pent-up demand will finally come off the sidelines in a big way.”

• The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports the six-month trend in housing starts decreased 3% from September to 268,907 in October.

More rental market headlines

Hamilton landlords allege misuse of Ontario Works housing funds – PayProp blog

London landlords offer referral bonuses to woo tenants in softer rental market – CBC

New Ontario Fire Code rules require additional carbon monoxide alarms in homes – CTV News