From the founders: Toronto has almost stopped building condos

GTA condos took the biggest hit of any home type in September. The average condo sold for 7.7% less than a year earlier, and 8,226 were still listed at month-end, according to TRREB.

Behind that inventory, almost nothing is being built. Developers broke ground on just 156 condos in the City of Toronto in the first half of 2026, CMHC's fall housing supply report found. The yearly average over the past decade is about 7,000.

So condo buyers right now have plenty of choice and very little coming behind it. Help them use that: compare more units, and read each building's status certificate before they commit. It shows the fees, the reserve fund and any special assessment coming, things a presale buyer can't see.

The library: new explainers on the Ownright blog

Three new explainers on the Ownright blog. Forward whichever one matches the question you are getting.

Vendor take-back mortgage in Ontario: how it works. The seller lends part of the price and registers a charge on title, usually in second position behind the bank. Title still transfers at closing, and land transfer tax is calculated on the full price including the VTB.

Extending a closing date in Ontario: how it works. Both sides have to sign an amendment to the agreement. Most Ontario agreements say time is of the essence, so neither party can move the date alone, and a rate hold typically runs 90 to 120 days.

Gifted down payments in Ontario: the gift letter. A lender will not release the mortgage without a signed gift letter, and the gift generally has to come from a parent, grandparent, sibling or spouse. Bank statements showing it arriving typically cover about 90 days.

Hot off the press: tariffs and the housing market

Tariffs ran the news cycle this month, so that is where our column went.

RENX: A month of tariff news, and what it means for the housing market. No single tariff headline moves the market, but a year of them has kept buyers on the sidelines, with new builds and renovations likely to feel the material costs first.

Market snapshot: listings fell faster than sales, and a weak jobs month cooled the case for a rate increase

Our take: Last issue we called the market looser, on national listings rising while sales held flat. The GTA went the other way in September, with new listings down 14.4% against a 9% fall in sales. The bigger shift landed on October 9, when a second month of job losses cut the odds of a Bank of Canada increase on October 28 to roughly one in four, from about half in late September.

Client spotlight: in their words

The Ownright advantage

Have a client in need of a real estate lawyer?
We'd love to support them.