One in three Ontario homes purchased during 2022 peak resold at a loss: Teranet

More Ontario homeowners are selling properties at a loss as housing market corrections continue to ripple through the province, according to new data from Teranet Inc., the private company that manages all property title registrations in Ontario.

The trend was most pronounced among properties bought in 2022, when home prices reached record levels. Teranet found that 36.6 per cent of properties purchased that year and resold in 2025 were sold at a loss, reflecting both price corrections and the higher cost of carrying a mortgage today.

Jasaman Singh of Century 21 Paramount Realty in Brampton is navigating these conditions with clients every day. 

Recently, he saw a seller client lose $950,000 on a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Northwest Brampton. The client acquired the home for $2.2 million in February 2022 and sold it last week for $1.25 million – a loss of 43 per cent. 

“The bigger the house, the bigger the problem,” Singh said to Real Estate Magazine.

He says scenarios like this are becoming increasingly common.

‘It’s everywhere.’

According to Teranet, Toronto and most surrounding regions saw over 20 per cent  of properties that were purchased in the years 2022 and 2023 and have since sold  registered a loss. 

Percentage of properties sold at a loss, by purchase year (2022 and 2023) and sold year (2022 to 2025). Source: Teranet

Dufferin County and Peel had the highest rates of loss, while many of the “cottage country” regions north of the GTA experienced rates of loss in excess of  25 per cent.

Singh said areas outside of the Toronto downtown core, which experienced the biggest price appreciation during the pandemic years, are being hit the hardest.   

“It’s everywhere,” he said. 

He suspects the worst is yet to come. 

“It has to get worse before it gets stable, and then better.”

Power of sales up 400 per cent

Ontario is also seeing a sharp rise in power of sale activity, another sign that higher borrowing costs are continuing to strain some homeowners. According to Teranet, the number of power of sale transfers climbed to 2,979 in 2025, up from 2,123 a year earlier and fewer than 600 in 2022.

While power of sale transactions still account for a relatively small share of overall housing activity, the steady increase suggests a growing number of households are struggling to keep up with mortgage payments and other living expenses. Teranet said the trend may reflect the challenges facing homeowners renewing mortgages at significantly higher interest rates or carrying variable-rate debt.

Ontario power of sale transfer volumes, 2015 to 2025. Source: Teranet

Jonathan Alphonso, a Toronto-based mortgage broker, real estate agent and private lender focused on distressed borrowers, said people are only selling in this market if they absolutely have to. 

He said he’s seeing an increasing number of “dire situations,” and predicts the trend will continue. 

“People who are calling me now and want to sell, they’re not in a good place. Divorce (or) they have other debts they need to get rid of. Some of them have no money whatsoever, not even living expenses, and they are already leveraged to the maximum,” he said.

An opening for first-time buyers?

Tracy Valko sees a lot of mortgage applications as founder and brokerage owner of Valko Financial Ltd. 

She was surprised to see Teranet report that the average first-time homebuyer age had climbed to 40.

From her point of view, people are still getting into the market in their mid-30s, often with co-signing or down payment help from their parents.

She said the softening in prices has kicked the door wide open for people who had been on the sidelines. 

“I feel like the Ontario housing market is increasingly becoming a first-time homebuyer market. It’s obviously not an investor market anymore,” she said.

“It’s allowing people to take advantage of those windows, where there’s not as much competition, and they’re able to have more negotiating power.”

The post One in three Ontario homes purchased during 2022 peak resold at a loss: Teranet appeared first on REM.