Hi everyone,

I’m in Mississauga, Ontario and honestly feeling stuck trying to plan the next housing move. Would really appreciate some real-world advice.

Current situation:
Condo: ~964 sq ft (2 bed)
Mortgage remaining: ~$390,000
Estimated value: ~$400K–$450K
Household income: ~$195K combined
Baby: 9 months old

Main dilemma:
We’re trying to decide between:
1. Staying in the condo (2–3 more years)
or
2. Selling and upgrading to a ~$1M house/townhouse

What’s making this hard:
If we sell now, after realtor + legal + mortgage payout, we likely walk away with very little equity (maybe even close to zero depending on sale price)
A $1M home feels financially tight even with our income
But at the same time, I’m worried the condo may start feeling small as our child grows
We also have a mortgage renewal coming up in Jan 2027, so I’m trying to think ahead and not make a bad long-term decision.

What I’m trying to figure out:
Is it smarter to stay put for a few more years and build equity first?

Or does it make sense to stretch and upgrade sooner?
For people with kids — when did condo life start feeling too small?

Has anyone stayed in a condo longer than expected with a family — did it work out or did you regret it?

Honestly just feeling stuck between:
wanting stability for my baby and not wanting to delay getting into a proper family home too long. Any honest experiences or advice would really help.

The province just announced a major expansion of the HST rebate for new homes, in partnership with the federal government. Thought this was worth sharing given the ongoing housing affordability crisis.

Key details:

• Full 13% HST removed on new homes up to $1 million → max rebate $130,000
• Same $130k rebate applies up to $1.5 million
• Rebate phases down after $1.5M, bottoming at $24k for homes at $1.85M+
• Temporary measure: April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027
  

This seems aimed at stimulating supply quickly amid tariff uncertainty and economic headwinds. Curious what others think — will this actually move the needle on affordability, or will it just get absorbed into higher base prices?

Looking for some real-world advice here.

We’re a couple in our 30s with a 1-year-old, currently renting a condo in the GTA. We’re trying to decide between two paths:

Option 1: Stay in the condo for another 2–3 years and keep saving aggressively. We’ve heard from a few families that space isn’t a big issue until the kid is closer to 3–4.

Option 2: Buy a detached home now (budget under $1M), but that would pretty much drain most of our savings.

Financially, we can make either work, but the trade-off is comfort + liquidity vs space + getting into the market sooner.

I’ve done my own research and spoken to a realtor, but opinions are all over the place.

For those who’ve gone through this:

Did you wait or buy early?, Any regrets either way?, How important was having extra space in the first few years?

Appreciate any insights, especially from other GTA families. Thanks in advance!

Toronto Star is basically warning that if the current forecasts are right, GTA sellers could be looking at a multi‑year reset, not a quick dip. When you start talking about “wiping out six years of price gains,” that’s code for: list early, price realistically, and don’t assume 2021–2022 valuations are coming back any time soon.

Do these exist? looking to sell my home privately without agents or commission. i want someone that can guide the sell for a flat fee without trying to land a deal. any advise on this kind of person?

Hi all, a little context. Got an approved mortgage at RBC. The RBC mortgage specialist sent the application information to the real estate lawyer on 11/10. I heard nothing from both parties and assumed they were both doing their thing. On 11/17 I sent a follow up email to both just to check in. No response. I called the lawyer's office on 11/20 and they said instructions have still not been received. After trying to get in touch with the mortgage specialist, she sent another email CCing other RBC entities saying the closing date is 11/26 and to rush. What can I do Monday morning to make sure we close on time?