Ontario’s housing market has a meteorological streak—it changes moods like the weather. One season it’s all bidding wars and bravado; the next, it’s silence and sweaters. Right now, the market’s in that rarest of states: still.

In Durham Region, east of Toronto, the data suggest a pause. Homes that once vanished in a weekend now linger. The average detached in Oshawa—priced between $800,000 and $850,000—would take about six months to sell if no new listings arrived. By definition, that’s a buyer’s market. By feel, it’s a staring contest.

The patterns are familiar. Under two months of inventory? Pandemonium. Three to four? A cautious truce. Beyond that, prices begin their slow descent. But the numbers only tell half the story. The psychology tells the rest.

Back in 2021, houses were selling the day they hit the market. In December of that year, Oshawa had just 18 detached homes for sale and 117 sales that month. The average home sold for 121% of asking. Buyers weren’t shopping; they were sprinting.

Now, the same people who once feared missing out are afraid of jumping too soon. Everyone’s waiting for confirmation that prices have stopped falling. But by the time that certainty appears, the opportunity’s already gone. As brokers like to say, “No one rings a bell at the bottom.”

This isn’t a new phenomenon. In 2012, during the U.S. housing crash, Canadians were buying Arizona real estate while Americans refused to touch it. Locals saw loss; the Canadians saw deals. One Phoenix agent remembers a buyer walking away over $5,000 because he “read online” that prices would drop further. A month later, they rose. No bell. Just hindsight.

Fast-forward to Ontario in 2025: interest rates are easing, inflation is cooling, and buyers are… scrolling listings like it’s a spectator sport.

Markets rarely stay quiet for long. The window between downturn and recovery tends to close faster than anyone expects. People waiting for certainty often end up chasing it.

As autumn settles in, so does the unease. The air cools, the listings stack up, and somewhere between boom and bust, Ontario’s real estate market is holding its breath—again.

This is the time to jump in. Email or call for a quick recap on how you can get into a home or acquire an amazing rental property. I can be reached at lindsay@buyselllove.ca or 905-743-5555