Bridgemarq reports 10% revenue drop as Canadian housing market cools

Bridgemarq Real Estate Services Inc., the parent company of Royal LePage, reported a sharp decline in first-quarter revenue Wednesday, as a softer Canadian housing market and a shrinking agent network weighed on results.

The Toronto-based company posted revenue of $69.9 million for the three months ended March 31, a drop of roughly 10 per cent from the $78 million it recorded in the same period a year earlier.

CEO Spencer Enright said the company saw “mixed market conditions” in the quarter, adding that while fundamentals like lower interest rates, increased inventory and price stabilization are encouraging, “persistent geopolitical uncertainty continues to act as a drag on overall demand.”

Bridgemarq ended the quarter with a net loss of $3.2 million, or 33 cents per share, from net earnings of $6 million, or 64 cents per share, in Q1 2025. Much of that reversal came from a $2.6-million accounting loss on the valuation of its exchangeable units compared with a $5.7-million gain on the same item a year ago.

On the cash side, the company generated $0.3 million from operating activities, an improvement from the $1.6 million it used in the prior-year quarter.

Agent network shrinks

Bridgemarq’s agent network shrank both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. 

As of March 31, the company’s franchise network counted 19,488 agents under 281 franchise agreements, down about six per cent from 20,757 at the end of 2025 and down roughly three per cent from 20,137 at the same point last year. 

The company’s corporate brokerages, which operate in the Greater Toronto Area, Greater Vancouver and Quebec, had 2,355 sales representatives at the end of the quarter.

During the earnings call, one analyst asked about the decline in agents, pointing to a large brokerage that announced this year it would not renew with Royal LePage.

Enright did not address that conversion specifically, but said that conversions come in cycles, and he’s not worried about growing the franchise network.

“I’m optimistic about ongoing conversations with prospects all across the country,” he said. “There are quite a few franchises within competing brands that are up for renewal that are engaging with us.”

Broader market pressures

The results reflect a difficult quarter for Canadian real estate broadly. 

Bridgemarq noted in its report that the national transactional dollar volume fell eight per cent year-over-year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), which also reported that total sales volumes dropped seven per cent and the national average selling price slipped one per cent compared to a year earlier. 

The interest rate outlook adds to the uncertainty. The Bank of Canada held its overnight lending rate at 2.25 per cent in April, but Governor Tiff Macklem has signalled the central bank could raise rates if inflation stays elevated. Canada’s consumer price index rose 2.4 per cent year-over-year in March, up from 1.8 per cent in February, driven largely by higher gasoline prices tied to the conflict in Iran.

Potential disruptions from the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) renegotiations this summer could push the bank in the opposite direction.

Enright said Bridgemarq is optimistic and continues to optimize the business, pointing to investments in digital tools and AI capabilities across its network. 

“We are confident our competitive offering remains as relevant and attractive as ever,” he said.

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