‘People are not desperate to sell, but buyers have a lot more to choose from,’ said real estate board president

As home sales plummet in Sault Ste. Marie, one realtor says it’s a good time to be a buyer, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to get a house for a low price.

Despite the number of local sales dropping 19.2 per cent through the first eight months of the year, the average price of a home climbed 7.9 per cent last month compared with August 2025, according to figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association.

“It’s a good time to be a buyer, but not because you’re going to get a great deal,” said Krissie Lamoureux, president of the Sault Ste. Marie Real Estate Board.

“You’re not going to scoop a home – you are going to pay the market value for a house. People are not desperate to sell, but buyers have a lot more to choose from.”

The average home sold for $347,370 last month even as 284 new residential listings hit the market – the most to go up for sale in August in the past decade.

At the same time, the 145 homes sold last month were 12.9 per cent below the five-year average and 17.9 per cent below the 10-year average for August.

Lamoureux said nerves around the economy and U.S. tariffs levied against Canada are likely playing a role in slower sales and heightened inventory seen in Sault Ste. Marie and elsewhere in Ontario.

“I wouldn’t say it’s the major part, but people are just a little more hesitant in buying,” she said.

“It’s not just us. If anything, we’re in a better position up here than you would see in southern Ontario – a much better position.”

Layoffs from Algoma Steel could also be playing a role – though Lamoureux said she’s seen many find gainful employment in the region, and she hasn’t seen an uptick in homes on the market following foreclosures.

“One benefit that we still have up here is a lot of those people are finding other jobs by just shifting their positions and being able to work up in Wawa, Dubreuilville, those areas that have the mines,” she said.

No matter the cause behind the slowdown in sales, it’s created a situation where buyers are taking their time as many more houses are available than in recent years when inventory was low and prices surged.

“It used to be that you would show buyers three houses and they would pick one because that’s all that was available on the market,” she said.

“Now you can show them anywhere between 10 and 20 homes that may suit their needs, so it’s taking them a little bit longer in order to pick and they’re not feeling rushed.”

For Lamoureux, the current market looks like it’s shifting back to how things were prior to the pandemic, with an added bonus for homeowners.

Despite the bump in prices in August, this year’s average price is 2.9 per cent lower than it was through the first eight months of 2025 – but home values have skyrocketed overall since 2020.

“We’re almost back to a norm now, with the bonus that values on our homes have increased – which is great for Sault Ste. Marie,” she said.

“We were so far below market value prior to the pandemic that it brought our values up to where they should have been in the first place.”

The full CREA report for August can be read here.