Rueben Murray

Current Ontario condo closings left some purchasers owing up to 30% above a unit’s market value, as proposed units had fallen below their contract prices.
Many purchases could not close because banks based mortgage advances on current unit value, leaving insufficient closing funds when contract prices exceeded appraisal.
Long gaps between signing and closing came from pre-sales, approvals, permits, contractor agreements, and labor shortages, giving falling markets time to upend buyer plans.
In Ontario’s earlier seller’s market, developers sometimes canceled deals when costs surged, prompting provincial scrutiny, proposed penalties, and calls for independent reviews.
Purchasers faced complex contracts with limited escape routes: usually only a 10-day cooling-off period, or termination if occupancy missed the outside occupancy date.

Ontario Condo Closings Face Value Gap

Canadian households added $19.4B in mortgage debt in a past quarter, the slowest pace since Early-Q1 2024, even with stronger home resale activity.
Overall household borrowing totaled $29.4B in that quarter, including $10B from non-mortgage borrowing, reflecting slower credit growth across household balance sheets overall.
Home resale value ↑~7% quarterly, yet activity still logged its weakest second quarter since 2021, while residential Real Estate value stayed ↓~0.3% yearly.
Debt burdens improved as disposable income ↑~2%, outpacing total debt payments ↑~1%, helping debt-to-income and debt-service ratios fall to one-year lows overall.
Mortgage interest payments still ↑~1.5%, and an economist expected debt-service costs to face upside pressure as mortgage resets peaked, even with resilient consumer spending.