Where is Real Estate business actually happening in 2026?

Here are the Top 10 Takeaways and Opportunities for Ontario REALTORS based on Ben Rabidoux’s most recent Metro Deep-Dive report. These points translate the data into clear, practical strategies for where business will actually happen in 2026

1. Distressed Sellers and Power-of-Sale Situations

Power of sale listings are up 51 percent year-over-year and now almost 4 percent of new listings. That is a huge opportunity.

Where the opportunity is:

• Homeowners who can’t renew comfortably at higher rates
• Investors who can’t cover carrying costs
• Downsizers who stayed too long and now need out
• Lenders and lawyers handling POS files who need reliable agents

How agents win here:

• Offer “pre-distress consultations” quietly
• Position yourself as the non-judgmental exit strategist
• Build relationships with mortgage brokers, insolvency trustees, accountants, lawyers

This is a niche that will grow before it shrinks.

2. Investors Exiting the Rental Market

Rents are falling fast

• Toronto condo rents down 4.6 percent year-over-year
• Down 13 percent from peak
• Rental listings at record highs

When rents fall and carrying costs rise, investors list.

Where the opportunity is:

• Target condo investors who bought pre-2020 or 2020–2022 and are losing cash every month
• Offer “keep vs sell” cash-flow analysis
• Market yourself as an exit advisor for investors who don’t know what to do with their portfolio

This will create steady condo listing supply all year.

3. Move-Up Buyers — Quiet but REAL demand

Prices are down

• 23 percent below the Feb 2022 peak
• And likely understated in the index

This means people who always wanted a detached but couldn’t afford one are now much closer.

Why it matters:

Move-up buyers create two deals. And they’re motivated because they see this as the best shot they’ve had in years.

Where the opportunity is:

• Promote the “detached discount window”
• Run trade-up scenarios showing their payment difference
• Target condo owners who have outgrown their space

4. First-Time Buyers Returning Later in 2026

The report is blunt: first-time buyers will re-emerge because demand is structurally there.

Not in February. Not in March. But mid–2026 as they adapt to the new rate reality.

Where the opportunity is:

• Build your pipeline NOW
• Run buyer education nights
• Offer “2026 readiness planning”
• Help them understand how to navigate higher-rate pre-approvals

These clients reward loyalty. They remember who helped them prepare.

5. Upsizing for Families as New Construction Collapses

New build supply is falling off a cliff

• Condos under construction down 20 percent
• Low-rise permits at historic lows
• Completions are dropping

This means low-rise resale will tighten, especially in suburbs and family areas.

Where to focus:

• Barrie
• Innisfil
• Simcoe
• Durham
• North GTA communities
• Anything with a yard and a driveway

Families want offline, space, stability. That’s only getting hotter in the second half of the year.

6. Sellers Who Need Clarity in a Declining Market

Prices have been declining for 12 straight months. Sellers are scared. That is your opening.

Where the opportunity is:

• Offer real market clarity
• Provide staging + prep strategies that maximize sale price
• Show data on downward price revisions and POS pressure
• Give sellers certainty around timing and pricing

Fear creates action. Agents who calm the fear get the listing.

7. Expired Listings Surge

With MOI at the highest since 2008, expireds will explode.

Where the opportunity is:

• Position yourself as the agent who can fix failed listings within your sphere and educate them on how to refer you to their friends and family.
• Focus on presentation, pricing, and negotiation

8. The “Get Me Out of Toronto” Migration Trend

GTA affordability is locked.

Simcoe County, Barrie, Innisfil, Orillia… these regions WIN.

People want

• space
• affordability
• sanity
• commute flexibility
• detached homes under Toronto condo money

This migration trend is one of the strongest opportunities across Simcoe.

9. Builders Who Need to Dump Inventory

New condo sales YTD were only 1,500 in the entire GTA.

Some builders will

• assign units
• bulk-sell allocations
• negotiate commissions
• quietly panic

Agents who build relationships now will benefit all year.

10. High-Skill Negotiators Become Valuable Again

In a soft market, negotiation isn’t optional, it’s the whole game.

Agents who can, extract value, read buyers, price properly, manage emotions will outperform.

 

This is a market where skills matter!