Let’s roll out the red carpet and sell our new homes to foreign investors.
That’s the latest idea being pushed by Canada’s homebuilding industry.
New home sales have collapsed to the lowest levels in decades - not because cities are “restricting supply,” but because home prices have fallen and builders aren’t willing to sell at today’s prices. They want peak-market prices. And if Canadians can’t afford those homes anymore? The solution, apparently, is to sell them to foreigners who can.
What’s striking is how the industry is spinning this as a supply solution - as if foreign buyers are going to save our housing market by building more homes. But they’re not saviours. They would be propping up an overpriced housing market and pushing the next generation of Canadians even further out of reach of homeownership.
Imagine the outrage if we proposed selling off our lakes, forests, or farmland to foreign investors. Yet when it comes to one of our most important assets - our homes - it’s somehow framed as sound policy.
What’s most alarming is that I think the federal government might actually go for it.
Not because it’s good policy. But because they can. Because Canadians rarely push back. We don’t take to the streets. We don’t storm the Bastille. We quietly, politely accept whatever decisions are handed down to us.
But if this goes ahead—if the government allows foreign investors to buy our homes - Canadians should protest.
Because when the next generation is struggling to buy a home of their own, there will be no justification for having sold them off to foreign investors. “More supply” won’t help if it’s being auctioned off to overseas investors. Homes aren’t just assets. They’re the foundation of a stable, secure life.
And they should be for Canadian households.
John Pasalis is President of Realosophy Realty. A specialist in real estate data analysis, John’s research focuses on unlocking micro trends in the Greater Toronto Area real estate market. His research has been utilized by the Bank of Canada, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Have questions about your own moves in the Toronto area as a buyer, seller, investor or renter? Book a no-obligation consult with John and his team at a Realosophy here: https://www.movesmartly.com/meetjohn
July 23, 2025
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