Canada

Resale pricing softened in 2025: the National Composite MLS HPI was -4% y/y in December 2025 (and -0.3% m/m). Transaction volumes were slightly lower for the year (470,314 sales; -1.9% y/y), while the sales-to-new listings ratio (~52.3%) stayed near its long-run average-suggesting balanced conditions nationally with regional volatility. CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report indicates easing rental tightness (national purpose-built vacancy 3.1% vs 2.2% in 2024). Consensus forecasts lean to a mild 2026 rebound rather than a rapid surge; CREA forecasts the national average price +3.2% in 2026 to ~$698,622, with uncertainty still above normal.

Canadian portals and brokerages are embedding automated valuation and recommendation features, often branded as AI/ML: HouseSigma advertises 'Home Valuation powered by AI,' and Zoocasa offers a free online home valuation estimate. Industry bodies are actively educating agents on generative AI for lead nurturing/content workflows, but market-wide adoption rates are not consistently disclosed. Near-term signal: AI is most visible in search/personalization, price estimation, photo/virtual-tour enhancement, and marketing automation-creating both productivity gains and new consumer expectations for transparency.

Compliance intensity is rising. FINTRAC outlines AML obligations for real estate brokers/sales reps and developers (ID verification, recordkeeping, reporting). In 2024-25, FINTRAC reported the largest number of Notices of Violation in its history and proposed policy reforms would materially raise AML penalties and enforcement tools. A 2025 federal expansion also makes title insurers reporting entities under the PCMLTFA starting Oct 1, 2025-tightening the transaction chain. Fraud signals remain elevated in rentals and social platforms (e.g., RCMP warnings about rental deposit scams in 2025), which pushes marketplaces toward stronger identity, payment and listing-verification controls.

Canada saw continued brokerage-portal convergence and proptech consolidation. eXp World Holdings completed its acquisition of Zoocasa and Zoocasa.com (July 2022), a template for integrating lead gen + brokerage execution. In 2025, Canadian mortgage/real-estate platform Pine reported acquiring Properly (including its brokerages and search portal). Late 2025 also brought workflow/listing infrastructure consolidation: myAbode announced the acquisition of FirstList, a platform positioned around private exclusive inventory and agent collaboration. Globally, proptech M&A volumes accelerated in 2025, supporting a 'scale + platform bundling' thesis that can spill into Canada via cross-border buyers and product imports.

Policy remains an active demand/supply lever. The federal government extended the foreign-buyer purchase ban to Jan 1, 2027. To stimulate rental supply, Canada introduced a 100% GST/HST rebate for new purpose-built rental housing (with eligibility conditions). Competition policy is also in focus: the Competition Bureau is investigating CREA policies related to cooperation and commissions, which could affect listing exposure rules and buyer-agent compensation practices. Data and marketing compliance pressures persist: PIPEDA governs private-sector handling of personal information federally (with provincial equivalents), while Qubec's Law 25 added/activated additional rights such as data portability (in force Sept 22, 2024).