Davids & DeLaat Team
Hey Niagara, here’s your Fall 2025 market update.
The story of September and October 2025 is clear: Niagara is still in a deep correction, and this fall has made the gap between inventory and demand even more pronounced.
A Late Spring Bounce Fizzled Into Fall
Early 2025 gave us a bit of momentum. When the Bank of Canada paused rate hikes in the spring, we saw a modest burst of activity that carried into early summer. Buyers felt a bit more confident, and the spring market stretched further into July than usual.
But once September rolled in, everything shifted. Talk of incoming rate cuts — and then actual cuts in September and October — caused buyers to pause. When buyers hear “rates are dropping,” they wait. And in a market flooded with listings, that pause becomes powerful.
Record-Breaking Inventory, Weak Demand
September delivered one of the highest new-listing months Niagara has seen in years, and October continued the trend.
Here’s the snapshot:
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482 sales across the region in October
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1,362 new listings added
That’s nearly a 3:1 ratio of listings to sales—a textbook buyers’ market.
With inventory at “epic highs” and demand falling off, prices continued to slide. Some sellers have become increasingly aggressive, pricing sharply to secure a sale before year-end. Others are still overpricing and chasing the market downward.
What Buyers Should Know
This is one of the strongest buyer environments Niagara has seen in over a decade.
You benefit from:
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More homes to choose from than ever
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Motivated sellers
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Some properties listed well below market value
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Rate reductions helping improve affordability
Keep in mind: the recent cuts primarily affect variable rates. Fixed-rate movement will determine when demand meaningfully returns.
For patient buyers, November through February could offer excellent opportunities.
What Sellers Need to Hear
Pricing is everything. Presentation is everything.
The sellers who come out swinging with unrealistic numbers are missing the market—and then reducing… and reducing again. By the time they adjust, the market has often dipped even lower.
To succeed in Fall/Winter 2025:
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Price your home to where the market actually is—not where you want it to be.
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Have your home in pristine, show-ready condition.
With high inventory, buyers gravitate toward listings that look great and are priced correctly. Homes missing either piece sit on the market for months.
Looking Into 2026
Next year is a wildcard, but a few things are clear:
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Inventory will stay high.
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Demand may improve slightly if fixed rates fall.
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Well-priced homes will sell first, especially in lower price ranges.
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There will be no “lottery market” for sellers.
Even if rates continue trending down in 2026, the sheer volume of listings means we’re still in a softened market. Any price growth would likely be modest and localized.
The Bottom Line
Fall 2025 has reinforced the same pattern we’ve been watching since 2022:
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Too much supply
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Not enough demand
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Motivated sellers
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Strategic buyers
Prices remain under pressure, and sellers must be realistic to get results. Buyers continue to hold the advantage heading into winter.
Stay tuned for the final December update—where we’ll break down the year, the impact of fall’s rate cuts, and what to expect heading into 2026.
