Luxury home sales are rising in seven of Canada's 13 largest real estate markets, according to a new report from Remax Canada.
The growth is fastest outside the two biggest markets, Toronto and Vancouver.
Burlington, Ont., saw the largest increase at 26.3 per cent, followed by St. John's at 21 per cent, Calgary at 20.6 per cent, Edmonton at 15.9 per cent and Saskatoon at 15.3 per cent.
"Wealth enables a home purchase. Confidence and the right opportunity motivate it," said Michael Altneu, vice president of luxury at Remax.
The data comes as the Canadian Real Estate Association reported a 2.3 per cent monthly decline in overall home sales across the country in September.
Rising fixed mortgage rates and economic uncertainty have "stretched" housing affordability in Canada, CREA said.
"The big question going forward is how much farther will the Bank have to go to keep a lid on inflation next year? Until that becomes clearer, this fresh round of uncertainty will likely send some buyers back to the sidelines," said Shaun Cathcart, CREA's senior economist.
Even in Canada's biggest cities, luxury real estate is booming, though the slowdown in the Toronto luxury market is concentrated in homes priced between $3 million and $7.5 million.
The Greater Toronto Area saw a 17.6 per cent increase in luxury sales of homes priced at $7.5 million or more.
In the GTA, 18 homes sold for more than $10 million, with 15 of them within the city of Toronto, the highest single year count for Toronto in a decade.
A single home in Toronto's upscale Forest Hill neighbourhood sold for $23 million.
While former U.S. president Donald Trump's trade war has continued to be a "dark cloud" over many prospective buyers, those at the very top have more financial muscle they are able to flex, said Adil Dinani, a realtor with Royal LePage West in British Columbia.
"Buyers of the $10 million price bracket have also done very well in the equity markets. They're not all real estate concentrated. They've had other successes or wins in other asset classes that is allowing them to step into this price category," he said.
U.S. stocks appreciated 17 per cent in 2025, following a 23 per cent gain in 2024 and 24 per cent gain in 2026.
Buyers at the top also have "the stamina to work through a long, extended negotiation," Dinani said.
With only a handful of buyers in the luxury market, buyers have the upper hand and can afford to drag out a negotiation and wear down the seller.
"We've had negotiations on high-end properties (in and around Vancouver) last multiple months," he said.
The trend in the luxury home market can be seen as a "course correction" that could trickle down to other segments, he added.
"We are seeing assets worth $10 million plus throughout Metro Vancouver sell. But these were originally listed at $16 to $18 million them. We've seen a course correction on pricing expectation," he said.
However, the thing that will ultimately move the needle on new buyers jumping into the market is a resolution of Trump's trade war, Dinani said.
"The big thing we're watching from a macro level is some sort of resolution with the United States. That, in itself, would lead to more folks coming back into the market," he said.
Canada's unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7 per cent last month.
e2gold.ca reported in November that the economic fallout from U.S. tariffs was a major issue in recent American midterm elections.
This story was written by the e2gold.ca newsroom from reporting by Global News and cedarnews.net. Quotes are checked word for word against that reporting.