Luxury home-buying activity accelerated early in the year but the threat of tariffs and resulting economic uncertainty stifled burgeoning housing markets.
RE/MAX Canada’s new 2025 Spotlight on Luxury Report, examined luxury real estate trends and developments in 12 major Canadian housing markets in the first two months of 2025 compared to the same period one year ago, and found that smaller markets with lower price thresholds experienced greater sales activity, while higher-priced markets saw a contraction in year-over-year sales.
Peripheral areas outside urban cores were attracting more luxury buyers, as some look to stretch their dollar or seek greater lot sizes.
Overall, sales increased in 75 markets, with eight experiencing double-digit percentage increases, such as Saskatoon, Montreal, Edmonton, Ottawa and Halifax. Declines were found in Hamilton (-41.2 per cent), Greater Vancouver (-12.8 per cent) and the Greater Toronto Area (-11.2 per cent).
“Canadian homebuyers expressed solid enthusiasm for luxury real estate of out the gate in 2025, with growing consumer confidence, robust stock market performance and a more favourable lending environment stimulating activity at all price points,” sayid Kingsley Ma, area vice president at RE/MAX Canada. “Unfortunately, the climate changed quickly amid increased political tensions between Canada and the U.S. as a trade war ensued and tariffs on goods were levied by both countries, fuelling uncertainty.”
Lower- to mid-range price points of luxury remain in greatest demand in most urban centres. The GTA, where the uber-luxe segment has proven quite resilient, was the only outlier, with sales more than the $7.5-million price point up considerably over year-ago levels. Seven properties have changed hands year to date in the GTA, including four over the $10-million price point.
Recent federal government changes including the higher $1.5-million cap on CMHC-insured mortgages, provided a lift to luxury home-buying at higher price points in several markets at the outset of the year. Luxury sales in Edmonton and Saskatoon were directly impacted by the increase, which came into effect in December 2024.
Top-tier condominiums over the $3-million price point have also experienced stronger activity in Greater Vancouver and the GTA despite the current market climate. Fifteen properties changed hands in Greater Vancouver in the first two months of the year, up from zero the previous year, while 12 condominiums were sold so far this year in the GTA, compared to 11 sales between January and February 2024.
In Vancouver, condominiums are bucking the downward trend, with 15 units sold so far this year, compared to zero in the first two months of 2024. The average price of those was about $4.3 million. In Edmonton, luxury condos are a smaller segment of the overall luxury market, representing seven per cent of sales.
Detached properties are by far the most popular housing type in Hamilton-Burlington, although several large condos have sold over the $3-million price point in Burlington. Luxury buyers there are choosing to rent properties—particularly in the condominium segment—before committing to purchasing.
In Montreal, condominium sales have faltered in recent years as buyers have become increasingly concerned over rising assessment costs due to the provincial government’s Bill 16. The Bill mandates reserve fund studies be carried out every five years to ensure the reserve can handle any major repairs or replacements required to the condominium.
In the GTA, luxury condos also gained momentum, with sales over $3 million rising nine per cent to 12 units this year, including five sales over $5 million, while in Ottawa, condo sales over $1.3 million have remained stable, with three recorded in January and February of both this year and last.
In Moncton, detached homes continue to dominate luxury sales, while condominium and attached home sales remain limited.
Luxury home trends
Downsizing is ramping up among aging luxury buyers, as the number of people nearing or entering retirement or becoming empty nesters grows. Yet, downsizing doesn’t look like it once did, as Boomers and Generation X redefine the trend by making lateral moves at similar price tags but with smaller, easier-to-maintain footprints.
Multi-generational living is on the upswing at all price categories and the luxury market is no exception, with increasing demand noted in Calgary, Winnipeg and Ottawa.
On the new construction side, Edmonton recorded the most housing starts since 1990, as well as Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton, London, Moncton and Halifax. In the GTA, builders have paused on speculation and end users are now hesitant to move forward as economic uncertainty threatens to increase construction costs. Most markets noted that new construction would likely slow if the trade war continues.
“Despite some pullback in recent weeks, there is a thread of optimism in luxury housing markets across the country,” said Samantha Villiard, vice president of regional development. “The economic upheaval that the threat of U.S. tariffs has brought to Canadian provinces to date has been profound, but underlying buying intentions are healthy. It’s now a matter of timing. Purchasers will move forward when calmer conditions emerge or as they acclimatize to the new normal.”
