Canada's Housing Market Finds Its Footing as Second-Quarter Momentum Builds

Canada's housing market picked up steam through the second quarter of 2026, according to new data from Royal LePage, as buyers who had been sitting on the sidelines earlier in the year began re-entering the market in May and June.

The company's latest housing survey, which draws on realtor insights across 65 of the country's largest markets, found the national aggregate home price slipped 1.4 per cent compared with the same quarter last year, settling at $814,900. On a quarterly basis, though, prices actually ticked up 0.2 per cent, a signal that the market's footing may be stabilizing after a rocky start to the year.

Phil Soper, chief executive of Royal LePage, said several regions are now carrying that spring momentum into the summer season as hesitant buyers return. But the recovery isn't playing out evenly from coast to coast. The Greater Toronto Area posted a 4.6 per cent annual decline in aggregate home prices, while Greater Vancouver fell 4.5 per cent over the same stretch.

Quebec City bucked the national trend entirely, with prices climbing 6.1 per cent year over year, even though they slipped two per cent from the first quarter, the region's first quarterly pullback in three years.

Within the Toronto market, quarterly prices rose 0.9 per cent, prompting cautious optimism. Broker Shawn Zigelstein of Royal LePage Signature Realty described a shift toward more balanced conditions but cautioned that broader economic uncertainty and geopolitical tension continue to keep would-be buyers on the sidelines, while sellers are listing only when necessary, tightening supply.

Looking ahead, Royal LePage is forecasting the national aggregate home price to rise about two per cent by the fourth quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, though it expects Toronto to remain an exception with prices declining roughly two per cent over the same period. Vancouver, meanwhile, is projected to see prices fall 3.5 per cent by year's end. For now, the message is one of cautious, uneven recovery, with some of the country's largest cities still working through the hangover of the post-pandemic correction.