Windsor’s winter housing market struggling to defrost

Home sales in Windsor-Essex have dropped 27 per cent in February.

The winter housing market continues to cool in Windsor-Essex, as a real estate chill settles across much of Ontario.

The Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors (WECAR) has issued its monthly report for February showing a steep 27.52 per cent drop in the number of homes that changed hands compared to the same month last year.

There were 237 properties sold in February 2026, down from the 327 sold in February 2025.

It’s not only that fewer homes are selling — they’re also commanding lower prices.

The average sale price tracked by WECAR has dipped 3.84 per cent last month from the same time last year. The average sale price in February was $541,588; however, the figure represents a price recovery from the average sale price of $528,040 recorded in January of this year. Although the average sale price year-to-date still shows a decline of 5.52 per cent.

The slowdown continues the other falling figures seen in January, where sales dipped 1.48 per cent and the average price slid 7.63 per cent year-over-year.

Sales stagnation in Windsor-Essex is not an outlier in the province. The Ontario Real Estate Association reports home sales remain subdued despite strong levels of new supply to start the year.

In January, the association reported home sales were 19.3 per cent below the five-year average and 27.1 per cent below the 10-year average for the month, while the average sale price was down 6.4 per cent from 2025 compared to a 2.6 per cent year-over-year national decline.

Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) Senior Economist, Shaun Cathcart, blamed a historic winter storm for the frigid market earlier this year.

“The monthly decline in national home sales was driven primarily by less activity in the Greater Golden Horseshoe and Southwestern Ontario, suggesting that the story was probably more about a historic winter storm than a downshift in demand,” said Cathcart, in a release. “Notwithstanding the chilly start to the year, we continue to expect 2026 will ultimately be defined by pent-up demand from first-time buyers finally seeing a chance to enter the market.”

Market activity in Windsor-Essex climbed 2 per cent last month from February 2025, with 764 new listings added to the market.