How is Windsor's real estate market holding up under the shadow of a trade war?

Windsor-Essex has been the epicentre of the United States' trade war and has been hit with tariffs on the automotive industry —but the local real estate market is holding steady despite the murky economic outlook.

Maggie Chen, president of the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors, says she is "proud" of the community after looking at the latest market statistics. 

"Our real estate market is resilient and strong," she said. 

The average sale price of home for April was $579,910, just a slight dip from March's average sale price of $583,182. It's also not far off from the same time last year when it was $581,571 in April 2024.

It was at the end March when U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to move forward with tariffs on automobile imports, with partial carve outs for vehicles that are Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) compliant, with 25 per cent tariffs applied to the non-American parts of vehicles finished in Canada. It has led to lay offs in the auto industry at Windsor's Stellantis Assembly Plant, and an overall feeling of deep economic uncertainty. 

A 'more balanced market'

Chen said the "pessimistic sentiment" has been understandable — but says she does not foresee a crashing market in the near future.

Sale prices have also shown consistency over the last six months fluctuating within a range of about $25,000.

The number of home sales has also gone up to 416 for April, higher than the previous few months — but it's down 15.3 per cent compared to April of last year. 

Chen also explained that inventory has gone up, with approximately 1,480 homes currently on the market. She said that's up 17.1 per cent compared to last year. 

All that combined means a transition to a "more balanced market," Chen explained. 

"Buyers, you will have more options to pick and choose.... You have more negotiation powers."

It's exactly that feeling of having more "power," that's motivating Sahereh Sahandabadi to buy a new home sooner rather than later. 

More power for buyers

"I feel that so far, this is the best time for me, because I see better options and more options actually," Sahandabadi said.  

Sahandabadi has been hoping to upgrade her home, and has been looking at real estate for about six months now. 

"I feel that the sellers are more reasonable now," she said. "So like, when you want to put an offer or if you're negotiating, they are more open to negotiating."

She has ramped up her search, now looking at three homes a day. 

For those looking to sell, Chen advises homeowners to be more "realistic" with their pricing and timeline expectations. 

'Nobody is in a rush'

She said, if someone is selling a home that was purchased at the height of the market during the pandemic in 2022 and early 2023, those properties might be sold at a loss. But Chen said that aside from that window of time, most homes are still selling at a profit.

She also pointed out that bidding wars are still happening across the region, but overall, everything is taking longer to close.

"When we are in a balanced market, nobody is in a rush. The seller is not in a rush. The buyer should not be in a rush either," Chen said, adding that buyers are more cautious right now because of the current economic outlook.

For Sahandabadi, an engineer who works in the automotive industry, she acknowledges that tariffs have brought about anxiety, but she said it's not deterring her search. 

"I think, we have to just keep our hopes up, you know?"