This week, a new survey finds that a growing number of Canadians, including those from older age demographics, want to see housing prices go down. Plus, July sees a bump in home sale activity and one property worth a look.

A slim majority of Canadians believe that bringing home prices down is more important than keeping them stable, but aren’t holding out hope that change will come anytime soon. According to a survey conducted for The Globe and Mail by Nanos Research, 52 per cent of Canadians said reducing prices was necessary, while only 35 per cent felt prices should be kept stable. Thirteen per cent of respondents were unsure. The study also found that 68 per cent of Canadians had a negative view of whether housing would be more affordable in five years.

As Salmaan Farooqui writes, one housing expert said she didn’t expect to see that 47 per cent of people aged 55 or older would say they wanted housing prices to decrease, and it shows that there’s an “emerging consensus” among Canadians that prices need to fall, even if it hurts their own finances.

A delayed spring market in Toronto-area real estate led to an uptick in July as buyers jumped at substantial price reductions, with one broker saying sales went up “out of nowhere.” The average price in the Greater Toronto Area fell 5.5 per cent in July compared with the same month last year to $1,051,719, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. New listings increased 5.7 per cent in the same period, while active listings swelled 26.2 per cent.

Despite the improvement in sales, transactions were notably lower on a historical basis, writes Carolyn Ireland. Many buyers have been weighing the benefit of buying now versus waiting to see whether prices continue to slide.

Rates shown are the lowest available for each term/type and category (insured versus uninsured) as of market close on Thursday, Aug. 14.

Sidharth Iyer, a 37-year-old director at an event technology startup, was looking to upgrade his living space from his 500-square-foot unit to better host his parents, who would visit for months at a time. But when a preconstruction unit he purchased didn’t look close to reaching its initial completion date of September, 2025, he decided to find a larger condo that was move-in ready. Andrea Yu dives deep into Mr. Iyer’s top three options, and reveals which one he ultimately picked. Can you guess which it was before reading the full story?

In an open letter to federal and provincial politicians, developers and industry advocates asked that governments reconsider the temporary ban on foreign buyers, or make newly built homes exempt. Responding to growing public pressure and mounting evidence, nine years ago the Liberal government slapped a 15-per-cent foreign buyer tax on foreign property purchases – increased to 20 per cent when the NDP took over. And then, in January, 2023, the federal government put a temporary ban on foreign property purchases, later extending the ban for another three years.

As Kerry Gold writes, they cite the fact that foreign buyers, or non-residents of Canada, have represented a significant share of investor buyers in major cities like Vancouver. Non-residents own one-in-10 newly built condos, according to the letter, and some experts say the real number is much higher than that.