From the founders: the sales move first

Home sales have climbed for four months running across the country, even while prices here are still down. Two numbers, pointing opposite ways.

That doesn't mean the market is back. It means activity moves before price does, the way it usually does, and more homes are trading here than in a normal summer while the benchmark keeps easing. Sales are the fast signal. Price is the slow one.

That puts you a step ahead of a client who's watching only the price. A seller who won't list until the benchmark rises is watching the slowest signal there is. A buyer holding out for a lower bottom is competing with demand that's quietly returned, even while the price keeps falling.

None of this is a reason to push a client who isn't ready. It's a reason to trust the sales over the price, so you read where the market is while everyone else waits for the slowest number to say so.

The library: questions clients bring you

Fresh explainers from our blog you can forward. Send the one that fits what your client is working through right now.

Selling a house with a mortgage in Ontario. The mortgage comes out of the sale proceeds at closing, so it never blocks a sale. Covers the prepayment penalty and a shortfall if the price won't clear the balance. Good for a seller deciding whether to port or break.

Transferring property title to a family member in Ontario. A gift usually attracts no land transfer tax, but the CRA still treats it as a sale at fair market value, so capital gains can apply. Worth forwarding to a client thinking of gifting a home or adding a child to title.

Assuming a mortgage in Ontario. Taking over a seller's fixed rate can work, but only if the mortgage is assumable and the lender approves you. You still fund the seller's equity and pay land transfer tax on the full price. For a buyer chasing a cheap locked-in rate.

Hot off the press: Ownright in the news

Joel's read on the market ran in trade coverage this cycle:

CMP - What BoC rate hikes would mean for Canada's housing market: Joel said another rate increase would be an additional negative force on a market that wasn't overly optimistic to begin with.

CMP - Political, economic risks cloud Canada's housing market outlook: Joel pinned the market's drag on cross-border economic uncertainty, and said the buyers now sitting it out will eventually decide there's no perfect time to jump in.

Market snapshot: activity firming, prices still soft

Our take: Sales have risen four months running and the national benchmark just posted its first monthly uptick since November 2024, though Ontario's is still down nearly 4% on the year. Firming activity comes first; price is the slower signal, and in Ontario it hasn't turned.

Client spotlight: in their words

The Ownright advantage

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