Barrie & Canadian Housing Market Update: 1)Barrie Housing Market Update Shows Local Market Staying Active;2)CREA Revises Resale Housing Market Forecast;3)House rich, cash poor: When a reverse mortgage might make sense
1)Barrie Housing Market Update Shows Local Market Staying Active
The Barrie housing market update reveals that local real estate remains active despite ongoing economic uncertainty.
Many buyers continue watching interest rates closely after the Bank of Canada decided to hold its key interest rate.
Experts say that decision reflects continued uncertainty in both the Canadian and global economy.
At the same time, international events, trade negotiations, and inflation continue influencing mortgage rates and buyer confidence.
However, local real estate professionals say it’s important to remember that every neighbourhood is different.
Some areas continue seeing steady demand, while others, particularly parts of the condominium market, remain more competitive for sellers.
As a result, buyers and sellers should focus on local market conditions instead of national headlines.
2)CREA Revises Resale Housing Market Forecast
Ottawa, ON July 15, 2026 – The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has updated its 2026 and 2027 forecasts for home sales activity and average home prices via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate boards and associations.
Since CREA’s forecast in mid-April there have been developments in the economy and in housing markets across Canada. Inflation fears from high oil prices resulted in a jump in fixed mortgage rates in late March. These have since partially eased back down, and rate hikes by the Bank of Canada this year have also now been mostly taken off the table, which should hearten both fixed- and variable-rate borrowers.
While high oil prices have benefitted specific regional economies, other parts of Canada are seeing the impact of negative population growth weigh on housing market activity more quickly than previously expected. A recovery in home sales appears to have taken hold beginning in May. This was led by Ontario, with a more muted increase in British Columbia and a mixed bag of ups and downs in other parts of the country.
Taken together, the national sales forecast for 2026 was revised slightly lower, reflecting the weak first half of the year, and slightly delayed start to the long-awaited recovery that should still result in a more active second half of the year.
This would be similar to the sales pattern that played out in both 2024 and 2025. Higher levels of activity are still expected across the board next year, with the Prairies and Ontario doing a little better than previously forecast, while Quebec and the East Coast are forecast to be slightly less active than expected earlier this year.
This remains in line with CREA’s long-standing expectation that activity would eventually begin to converge on longer-term trends in all provinces as critical external factors such as inflation, interest rates, and population growth/decline settle down following some of the wildest swings on record in the first half of the 2020s.
Some 463,336 residential properties are forecast to trade hands via Canadian MLS® Systems in 2026, representing a small 1.4% decline from 2025. The slight downward revision from the previous forecast, which had called for a modest annual gain, reflects a faster-than-expected slowdown in parts of Canada facing the dual headwinds of the sharp reduction in population growth and historic supply shortages, specifically Quebec and the East Coast. As a result, Ontario is now the only province forecast to see annual sales increase in 2026 compared to 2025.
The national average home price is forecast to rise by 1.1% on an annual basis to $686,710 in 2026, almost unchanged from CREA’s April forecast. The national figure in 2026 is the result of declines of less than 1% in B.C. and Ontario offset by ongoing but slowing price growth in other provinces. Standout provinces on the price side include Alberta, where prices turned a corner and resumed rising in the second quarter, and Newfoundland and Labrador which is Canada’s last remaining province in full-on seller’s market mode.
In 2027, national home sales are forecast to climb 3.7% to 480,567 units, with gains in that same range across most provinces as expected slow but positive economic growth, stable interest rates, and stable or modestly rising home prices in most regions combine to bring more pent-up demand into the market. The number could be stronger if external factors don’t once again disrupt the spring market for a fourth straight year.
The national average home price is forecast to climb 1.1% from 2026 to $694,164 in 2027, again almost unchanged from CREA’s April forecast. Gains are expected to be held to below inflation pretty much across the board. This forecast would mark the sixth and seventh consecutive years that the national average home price has hovered close to the $700,000 mark.
Each quarter, CREA updates its forecast for home sales activity and average home prices via Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate boards and associations. CREA’s next forecast will be published on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The Quarterly Forecast data is available to download in Excel (.xlsx) format.
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About the Canadian Real Estate Association
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry associations. CREA works on behalf of more than 160,000 REALTORS® who contribute to the economic and social well-being of communities across Canada. Together they advocate for property owners, buyers and sellers.
For more information, please contact: Pierre Leduc, Media Relations, The Canadian Real Estate Association, Tel.: 613-237-7111 or 613-884-1460
3)House rich, cash poor: When a reverse mortgage might make sense
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Tara Deschamps, July 18, 2026
Reverse mortgages were at one time considered the Wild West of financial products, associated with aggressive and even predatory sales tactics targeting seniors in the United States.
Fairly or not, that reputation has instilled some wariness in Canada, where regulations have long been more stringent than they were during the industry’s early days south of the border. Nowadays, some experts say they’re an option worth considering for older Canadians who are house rich, cash poor and well aware of the pros and cons.
“It could be a beneficial tool for certain people, but not for others,” says Barbara Knoblach, an Edmonton-based financial planner at Money Coaches Canada.
Reverse mortgages are available to Canadian homeowners who are 55 and older. Up to 55 per cent of the equity built up in the home can be unlocked tax-free in a lump sum or incremental payments, usually at interest rates two to three per cent higher than what a conventional mortgage would carry.
Unlike a traditional mortgage, the loan and interest is not paid back in regular intervals. Instead, that happens when the homeowner moves, sells or dies. In the case of death, the loan and interest repayment becomes the responsibility of the homeowner’s estate.
The homeowner retains the title and cannot be forced out of the property. In Canada there are also consumer protections against the borrower having to pay back more than what the home is worth.
Homeowners have some responsibilities during the life of the loan. The properties must not be allowed to fall into a state of disrepair that would decrease the value. They also remain on the hook for property taxes and homeowners insurance.
There are other costs to be aware of, including legal, appraisal and closing fees. There might also be prepayment penalties if you pay before the term is up.
One of the knocks against reverse mortgages is that with years of interest piling up at high rates, there’s seldom much equity, if any, left by the time the homeowner passes on.
“The client for whom this could be a fit would be the person who doesn’t care so much about estate preservation. They may not have any children or other people that they want to leave an estate to,” says Knoblach.
“They would say, ‘This is my house. I’ve worked toward it and I want to stay here. And, if at the end of my life, all the equity is gone, I do not really care. I’ve had my retirement where I wanted to live.'”
For some cash-strapped homeowners wanting to leverage their home equity, there may be better options, says Knoblach. Downsizing to a smaller property is one. And for someone still earning an income, home equity lines of credit usually have more flexibility and better rates.
“They should work with a financial planner or with somebody knowledgeable before they make a decision to get into this type of product that they cannot extract themselves out of,” she says.
Knoblach also cautions against using funds from a reverse mortgage to finance a lifestyle that would otherwise not be sustainable.
Meanwhile, Anthony Quinn, president of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, says a reverse mortgage can be life changing.
The advocacy group has long endorsed the CHIP Reverse Mortgage offered by HomeEquity Bank.
“We did a lot of due diligence into the product and found that it was a unique answer to the questions that our members had,” says Quinn.
“We found it really was not for everyone, but for a segment of Canadians who own their homes either outright or have a small remaining mortgage and want to access the value in that home without doing what would be unthinkable for them, which is moving out of their house.”
Downsizing is often not a viable option, as there’s no guarantee a lower-cost property is available where someone has spent decades building social ties and a support system, Quinn says.
As for the estate considerations, Quinn says it’s up to homeowners to decide what they want to accomplish.
“In actual fact, what we hear is oftentimes they are taking money out to help their adult children in the now rather than in the future through their will,” he says. “And they’re taking money for children and grandchildren for their education.”
Quinn rankles at the “paternalism” and “ageism” that he often hears creep into the discussion over reverse mortgages — views along the lines of “we don’t want mom or dad or grandma or grandpa having access to their money because they might do something frivolous with it.”
Tapping their home equity could allow homeowners to make accessibility improvements to their homes that would enable them to stay longer, purchase or maintain a vehicle or just be more choosy at the grocery store, Quinn says.
“Older Canadians have done the right thing,” he says. “They were told that they should invest in their home.”