The Niagara real estate market is feeling the impact of the present trade conflict with the United States, according to the Niagara Association of Realtors.
Its monthly report, which was released earlier this month, shows that home sales cratered in March compared to March 2024.
Just 473 homes were sold in Niagara Region in March 2025, which is down 42.1 per cent from a year prior.
At the same time, home sales for the first three months of 2025 were similarly lower from home sales from the first three months of 2024, with a total of 1,228 units sold, a 40.4 per cent decrease.
“March homes sales dropped to the lowest level for this month since 2009 as more buyers move to the sidelines awaiting the fallout from the recent round of tariff announcements coming out of the U.S.,” said Chair Lisa Taylor.
“Our automotive sector will be exposed to some impact under the 25 per cent tariffs imposed on non-CUSMA compliant vehicles and parts, as well as spillover effects from lower trading activity in general.”
The present federal election is adding uncertainty to an already cloudy picture as well, according to the report.
Despite falling sales, the benchmark price for a home in Niagara Region was only down slightly. The benchmark price in March 2025 was $626,900, which is down 1.4 per cent from a year ago.
The present environment of uncertainty has also impacted the number of homes on the market. The number of new listings last month was down 12.5 per cent from March 2024.
Overall, there were 1,465 new residential listings in March 2025. According to the report, that’s the lowest number of new homes added to the market in the month of March in five years.
New listings for March 2025 were 16.7 per cent below the five-year average.
Total active residential listings in March were 3,143 units, up 1.9 per cent from March 2024. Given that fewer listings were added to the market in March compared to recent years, the high number of listings suggests it is taking longer for folks in Niagara Region to sell their homes.
Active listings were 42.5 per cent above the five-year average in March, pointing to that exact problem.
With trade uncertainty unlikely to clear up in the short term, the expectation is for the market to remain soft for the time being.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
