On sale. Today only.

Pete admits to sharing this pathetic blog with his squeeze, Genevieve, Sunday mornings. “This usually involves me reading a couple of your articles to her over a cup of coffee before the kids wake up and all hell let’s loose,” he says. Both rugrats are under four. It’s a lot of hell.

“We have lived in Kelowna for 7 years. We’re happy renters sitting on the sidelines watching as the market around us begins its overdue correction, patiently waiting to get in.” Both are mid-thirties, and have observed the local real estate market swell like a balloon, then be pricked and deflating.

“My wife was coming home from work the other day and couldn’t help but notice a bus ad advertising a one-day sale, 20% off condos in a new build across the road from the beach. We thought of you instantly and thought you’d find this interesting. Not something you see everyday.”

No, it’s not. But a meaningful sign of the times.

Yesterday the Mission Group chopped its inflated price list because, “We’re listening to what the market needs today,” says owner Luke Turri. “We’re looking to meet the market where it is right now and be very transparent about that.”

Across the Lower Mainland, a similar story. Condo developments that never sold out during the pre-con phase are offering buyer incentives that would have seemed bizarre in 2021. Years of free strata payments. Free TVs. Free cars. The chance to win your unit, and pay only $1 for it. Free parking stalls. Free decorating. Low downpayments. Assisted financing. Everything but Sydney Sweeney warming up your new bedroom.

There are more than 2,000 new, unsold condos in the region. Developers are freaking and asking for provincial intervention (good luck with that in a socialist society). The situation in the GTA, as reported here, is way more dire. Unsold new-build inventory there tops 21,000 homes, the majority of which (16,000+) are condos.

Add to that the wretched, teeming despair of the assignment market (as detailed here last week) plus the 27,000 current listings on resale MLS. And despite this mountainous plethora of available inventory, the feds are throwing $13 billion (with twice as much to come) at creating even more new housing.

Equally alarming are claims coming from realtors that distress sales have suddenly exploded. One report says 10% of current Toronto listings are linked to power of sales, where a lender forces a property onto the market because of missed payments. On the eastern flank of the GTA, a local agent says 13% of all available homes fall into that category.

Meanwhile, some signs of borrower angst have emerged at the country’s largest lender.

RBC has a mortgage portfolio of $418 billion, with another forty in HELOCs. This giant pile of debt grew 3% in the last year, which represents a dramatic decline from double-digit post-pandemic increases.

Overall, the proportion of people who have not made a payment in at least 90 days grew a little, and sits at a very low point of one third of 1%. But in the GTA that rate increased 55% in the past year, while in Vancouver it grew 35%.

By the way, 80% of RBC’s mortgage portfolio is not CMHC-insured. And of the mortgages arranged in the most recent period, borrowers have, on average, 30% equity. Of course, if prices fall by a third, they won’t have any.

Impossible, right?

About the picture: “I am under one month into my retirement,” writes Julia. “I have been reading your blog for many years, thanks to my husband, and I believe it has undoubtedly helped us prepare. Even with the inevitable bumps along the way we have stayed on course.  Thanks for all you do. Here is a picture of a beautiful dog that was in our restaurant in Wengen, Switzerland this evening.”

To be in touch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘garth@garth.ca’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2025/11/23/on-sale-today-only/