The RAZZ Report breaks down trending real estate topics into four pillars:

🧭 [R]esearch
📊 [A]nalysis
🔎 [Z]oom-In
🌐 [Z]oom-Out

In an effort to understand the market as it is… not as it’s sold.

Earlier this week, Ontario and the federal government partnered up to remove the full 13% HST on eligible new home purchases. It is projected to stimulate 8,000 additional housing starts and provide a $2.7 billion boost to provincial GDP.

You can save up to $130,000 on a new home if you buy it in the next year, starting April 1st. And you don’t have to be a first time buyer.

No foolin’!

Who doesn’t love a discount on an already overpriced product?

This tax break comes at a very interesting time because Canada just met its NATO commitment by spending $63.4 billion on national defence in 2025, reaching the 2% of GDP target for the first time in nearly 35 years.

Keep in mind, ~$9 billion of that went to salary hikes for existing members of the Canadian Armed Forces. And while it’s great to see the men and women that serve to protect our country take home bigger cheques… it would be cool to see more space pads and less padding of the numbers.

And while I’m more of a lover than a fighter myself, this pivot is creating opportunities in industrial real estate, as increased military spending drives demand for specialized manufacturing and warehousing space.

At the same time, tensions in the Middle East continue to ripple through global oil markets, which is a bit of a double-edged sword for Canada. Higher oil prices add pressure to inflation, while significantly boosting Canadian energy export income. All we can do is be mindful of how much we squeeze, and are squeezed, at the pumps.

That dynamic feeds directly into Canada’s position on the global stage. With proposals like the South Bow initiative set to revive segments of the Keystone XL pipeline, Canada’s got a bit of a bargaining chip, with the potential to boost crude exports to the U.S. by over 12%.

All of this, unfolding right in time for CUSMA negotiations…

Back to the rant.

When I speak to agents with 30+ years in the industry, they all believe this is the worst market they've seen, comparing it to the 90s.

Now, I wasn't even a thought back then, so I couldn't tell you what the market was like anecdotally.

But from what I've gathered:

How Does 2022 to 2026 Compare?

The price drop is eerily similar… we're sitting at roughly 26–27% off the 2022 peak on the HPI benchmark, matching the full depth of the 90s trough… in about 4 years instead of 7.

But the causes and conditions are a bit different.

Similar:

Different:

The 90s tightening was brutal in level. The prime rate climbed from roughly 7% in 1987 to a peak of 14.75% in April 1990, a move of ~775 basis points over about 3 years.

The 2022–2023 cycle was a speed shock. The BoC went from 0.25% to 5.00% in just 16 months - 10 hikes totalling 475 basis points; the fastest tightening cycle in 40 years.

In the 90s, immigration and population growth were the recovery engine. Demand eventually came back because people kept coming to Canada.

In 2025, our population shrank by about 100,000 for the first time in Canadian history.

In the 90s, jobs disappeared because the economy contracted, and eventually, when it recovered, they came back. The job market was intact underneath it.

In 2026, dozens of companies have announced layoffs. Companies like Bell, CBC, Scotiabank, CN Rail, OpenText. And the Federal government plans to cut 40,000 jobs by 2028-2029.

‘Yeah but rates go up and down, population numbers ebb and flow, markets are cyclical, jobs will come back, things will go back to normal’.

I don’t believe this is a temporary or cyclical dip.

And you don’t have to take my word for it, just check out the latest BoC publication:

The three structural changes she’s referring to?

In my own business, I’ve rebuilt systems using tools like Claude to replace and expand upon systems I already use.

And don’t ask me if I know how to code…

I have a degree in Human Resources.

But I’ve rebuilt a website that cost me $10K two years ago:

And another because I believe rentals are going to dominate in the years ahead:

Plus my professional site:

I’m stoked that I’m able to see these things come to life.

Years of researching what works for buyers, owners, and renters, and then being able to translate what I’ve learned into practical resources and guides in an effort to empower people to make more informed real estate decisions.

Years of researching web design, SEO, and user-interface are finally coming to fruition and I’m already seeing impressions, clicks, and calls.

While it’s all still a work in progress, I feel like I finally have something of value that I can offer the marketplace.

The funny part about all of this?

Search i.e. the World Wide Web, will become a thing of the past too!

Because slowly but surely, we’ll all adopt our own personal AI-agents to help coordinate everything… from our personal life, fitness tracking, grocery shopping, businesses, renting a property, maintaining a home, etc. Like we already do with apps… but they can learn.

Whenever you Google something now, the first thing you see is Gemini’s AI-generated summary of the results. We’re not clicking through as many links as we used to.

I know I’m not…

Now I don’t believe any of this will happen overnight.

But the emerging reality is blunt:

AI won't replace you, but people who leverage AI might.

And as much as hate that idiom, it bears some weight.

The job market of the future will not look like the one today. The direction is already clear - companies are able to do more with less, and "less" keeps getting smaller.

What took a team of 100 is becoming a team of 10. What took 10 is becoming 1 person with the right tools, enough curiosity to use them, and enough tokens to build.

The tech elites of the world and CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman, are already making bets as to when the first one-person, billion dollar company will happen.

Insane take but also, 99.9% possible.

That’s the crazy part.

It’s not a matter of if anymore… it’s a matter of when.

‘Oh Jordan you’re forgetting that we’ve been here before… the Agricultural Revolution….Industrial Revolution… Green Revolution… Humanity always adapts!’

True. But this time the plow pushes itself.
And it can learn how to do it better and more efficient than you can.

Every revolution in history displaced the people who didn't see it (or didn’t want to see it) coming and rewarded the ones who got ahead of it.

The difference now is the pace.

What took generations is taking years. What took years is taking months. What took a computer science degree is just fine with a human resources degree.

And of course, not every industry will be impacted in the same way. The trades for example, won’t be automated anytime soon.

But who’s gonna pay the trades when there’s no jobs?

That's when the conversation stops being about condos.

And starts being about uh-ohs.

But we are waaaaays away from that… right?

Right?!!

Too much?

Maybe, but I think it’s important to embrace AI.

I started using ChatGPT a few years ago, got made fun of for paying for a subscription.

Now, most people I talk to are using it in some capacity in their everyday life.

And the tools that exist today are mind-blowing, scary, and downright badass.

Just think about one small, tiny problem you have in your every day life, and come up with some prompts on how you can solve it.

The only limitation is your imagination. And how many tokens you have.

Best,

Jordan Buttarazzi