You'd be forgiven for not being able to keep abreast of all that's going on in the trade war between the U.S. and Canada, with leaders on both sides — but predominantly one person in particular, if we're being honest — making new threats each day.

Whether President Donald Trump flip-flops or follows through on his plans to maintain the levies (and potentially worsen them), the damage has already become evident, both in terms of the economy and the Canadian public's perception of our neighbour to the south.

Amid all of the concerns about hard-hit industries and industry in general, many who own property or one day hope to may be wondering what continued tariffs will mean for the already dicey housing markets of major Canadian cities like Toronto.

The Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA) has already warned that the tax could "decimate" the new home sector, which is already floundering amid record-low sales volumes, especially for once-favoured presale condos.

"The risk of a resulting economic downturn is significant. And as a result, we will undoubtedly see less housing starts, ongoing projects halting, and completed projects struggling to close," the organization wrote earlier this month.

But while developers panic, buyers could end up benefitting from what is a generally terrible situation for all corners of the country and its economy.

As RBC details in its latest Special Housing Report, the tariff tumult has "shaken" the foundation of Canada's real estate market, with Toronto's being the most affected market of all.

"The trade war launched in March by the U.S. against Canada (Mexico and China) threatens to further erode market confidence, upend buyers' plans and quiet a usually busy spring season. The impact would intensify the longer trade uncertainty rages," the bank's economists wrote last week.

They add that the Toronto market "has taken the biggest hit, with transactions plunging to a new cycle low" — but, on the bright side for prospective homeowners and to the current ones, that this means "bargaining power has clearly shifted in buyers' favour."

RBC

While stagnant market activity hasn't been enough to drive home prices in the city down significantly thus far, it seems that the sudden economic panic and the threat of a more dramatic recession than we're already in just might be. RBC is predicting a "downward price pressure" for homes that will intensify as the trade war drags on.

The timing of this wrench that Trump has thrown into the engine of our country couldn't be better for would-be home buyers, though, as persistently dwindling sales figures and a glut of listings month over month have set up the perfect storm.

Those who have been up to now been sidelined by Toronto's exorbitant prices and higher post-COVID interest rates may have the best chance to enter the market and get a heck of a bargain from one of the many desperate, unfortunate sellers who bought when the frenzy was high — so really, any time in the last decade, until recently.

This is, of course, entirely dependent on how much buyers are impacted by the trade war and the resulting fallout.

RBC notes that home resales in the city have already plummeted an astounding 29 per cent between January and February of this year, marking the largest fall since the beginning of the pandemic, a similarly economically disastrous time. Also, that property values were already starting to sag under just the threat of tariffs, dropping the most dramatically in February than any month in the last 15.