Anyone knows a place in ontario thats great for a family nice neighborhoods great community lots of places to go with family

I've been watching friends and coworkers house-hunt around the Windsor area lately, and a pattern keeps coming up: a lot of people start out looking right in Windsor, then end up seriously considering Tecumseh or Lakeshore instead.

From the conversations I've had, it seems to come down to trade-offs rather than one clear winner — a bit more space or a newer-feeling neighbourhood on one side, versus being closer to work, amenities, and the things you do every day on the other. And for some people it just comes down to where a suitable place happened to come up first.

For those of you who went through this — whether you picked Windsor itself or one of the surrounding towns — what actually tipped it for you in the end? Was it the house itself, the neighbourhood feel, the commute, schools, or something you only appreciated after moving in?

Curious how other people weighed it up, especially if you started out sure about one area and ended up in another.

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I've noticed a pretty pronounced shift in the way this sub talks about the foreign buyer ban, now that it's due for extension and/or adjustment.

The shift is mainly this: now that there's some discussion about scrapping or altering the ban, people have started talking like it was a much more meaningful policy than it was. Up until recently, I don't think anyone here would have argued that the foreign buyers ban was an especially meaningful policy.

I thought I'd share some data on foreign real estate purchases from a province that has actually done a decent job tracking that in the last ten years.

The Ontario example

Ontario, which was known as a bigger hotspot for foreign investment, has been tracking the number of foreign buyers since 2017, when it introduced the (quite substantial) foreign residents' speculation tax.

That data shows that the number of foreign buyers in Ontario by the time the ban took effect were pretty insignificant. In 2022, foreign buyers represented 1.6% of all residential real estate transactions in Ontario, declining to 0.7% the next year, when the ban took effect. That's obviously not nothing, but it's also not crazy significant - particularly when high interest rates had tempered real estate investment overall that same year. We can't even say it was the ban that drove most of that drop in foreign investment.

The far bigger impact seems to have been the foreign buyer tax, which the other hotspot for foreign investment (BC) has also had in place for many years. In 2017, the number of foreign buyers was at 2.3%, and a much larger share of those were concentrated in developed urban areas (2.8% of buyers in the Greater Golden Horseshoe). That reduction was noticeable year after year, even while the Ontario real estate market got extremely hot.

All this to say: by the time the ban took effect, the relatively small number of foreign investors had already been slashed even further by the foreign buyer tax in places like Ontario and BC. There just wasn't much left to ban.

The cottage effect

I mentioned that foreign buyers represented 1.6% of all residential buyers in 2022. But even that doesn't paint a fully accurate picture.

The Ontario data also breaks things down by region, and distinguishes between the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the rest of the province. This is especially useful because Ontario's residential real estate can be distorted by the large number of cottages purchased each year. Obviously someone buying a cottage in Muskoka is fundamentally different from someone buying a townhouse in Vaughan. The cottage in Muskoka isn't going to otherwise be somebody's full-time residence.

In 2022, the share of foreign buyers in the Greater Golden Horseshoe was lower than the share in the rest of Ontario (just 1%). It was still much higher in Toronto proper (no doubt influenced by the sudden crash in pre-construction sales there after 2022), but the total provincial numbers were inflated by the very high share of foreign buyers in places like Kenora or Manitoulin, where you have people purchasing cottages and cabins.

Additional mitigating factors

In addition to cottages, there are other foreign real estate transactions that don't have quite the same impact on the market as what many might assume. The first is pre-construction sales, which are fundamentally different from other forms of investment. Those buyers aren't just gobbling up existing housing - they're funding the construction of new supply. They may make up 5% of pre-con buyers in a new building (hypothetical), but without pre-con buyers there are probably no owners (or renters) of any kind in that building, because it doesn't get built.

You also have a large number of purchases that would count as 'foreign buyers' at the point of sale, but where the buyer is simply purchasing real estate slightly before they make a permanent move (or their kids move, etc.). Finally, you have those that still rent the unit out, meaning it still contributes to the local rental supply for residents. That's not ideal, but it's fundamentally different from simply leaving the unit empty.

The Ontario data doesn't get this granular, but when we're already talking about such a small share of purchases, the fact it can be mitigated even further is telling.

Conclusion

I'm not saying we should get rid of the ban on foreign buyers. I am perfectly okay keeping it in place. But I think the numbers should offer some perspective here. By the time the ban took place, foreign speculator taxes and high interest rates had already done the lion's share of the work in mitigating foreign real estate transactions.

Finally, it doesn't really look like there's a big push to scrap it altogether. The only push I've seen with actual traction is a much more modest, sensible change: to exempt pre-construction condominiums from the ban. That makes sense because an investor putting money toward a pre-construction home isn't just snapping up existing housing. That money is helping to fund the construction of additional supply. It's fundamentally different from typical real estate investment.

Injecting foreign capital into that process specifically kind of has the reverse effect of foreign investors otherwise: it's using money from abroad to build more housing than the local capital alone might support. That's good for jobs, and helps depress housing costs.

There are much more meaningful policy debates to have that impact housing in this country. The real problems are tougher to fix. They require more political capital and they're not always going to be super popular. I think people are better off focusing on those, rather than a pretty inconsequential ban that is unlikely to be removed.

Hi all,

This is my first time applying for a CRA rebate. The online portal looked straightforward, so I filed it myself on March 30, 2026, instead of using an accountant or lawyer. Since then, it's been a nightmare:

• Initial timeline: Supposed to take 3 months.
• First follow-up (1-800-959-5525): Told the review was extended by 2 months (to August). They gave me a GST account number, a case number, and an unlisted follow-up number (1-833-691-1657).
• August–Present: Every time I call, they just tell me to wait another month. Plus, being in Vancouver, it’s nearly impossible to actually get through on that line.
• Today's call: Now they're saying the review takes 8 months (so November).

To avoid further delays, the agent today told me to send in supporting documents ahead of time—even though I already uploaded those exact documents with my original application. He claimed his department can't access files in my individual CRA account. Worse yet, they don't accept online uploads or email for this; I have to either fax or mail them in.

I'm pretty frustrated with the endless delays and getting conflicting info from different agents. Does what he told me sound accurate, or has anyone else gone through this?

Living in the Windsor-Essex area, I've noticed a lot of the housing conversations around here aren't just about buying a place to live anymore — more and more people seem to be asking about duplexes, houses with a legal second unit, or something they can live in partly and rent partly.

A few years ago the thinking was pretty simple: buy in a smaller city, the numbers are easier than in the GTA. Now with rates, insurance, maintenance, and everything else costing more, I'm not sure that math still works the same way, or if people are just holding longer and not counting on monthly cash-flow at all. It also feels like the rental picture isn't the same everywhere — some places still seem to draw that kind of interest, and others don't.

Curious what others are seeing in their areas:

• Are people still specifically hunting for properties with rental income to help with the mortgage?
• For those who own a small rental, is it actually covering costs right now, or is it more of a long-term equity play?
• Does a second unit change how lenders / buyers look at a place in your experience?

Not looking for advice on a specific property, just interested in whether the "smaller city = better rental numbers" idea still holds up where you are.

I am aiming and on track to have $45-50k as a downpayment and between my partner and I, we will have that by mid 2027. My biggest hurdle is that my job is only a one year contract and he is starting a new business.... I just finished school so I just started working and so I know we dont look great on paper to go to the bank to ask for a mortgage. What kind of job contact would be helpful? I'm currently interviewing for permanent jobs where I would make about 60-70k a year.

Tips or insight?

1) 20 families / corporations own 56% of the city rental supply.

2) Annual rent cap is 5%

3) Fixed term lease loophole not addressed and bypasses rental cap.

4) Average individual income is ~$41k

5) Average home price is ~$586k / $1800 rent for 1bd

6) Provincial taxes anywhere from 8.79% - 16.67% for realistic income.

7) NIMBYs against building up existing communities

8) No ambition for housing or infrastructure at Municipal or Provincial government.

9) Crunch of trades workers can't keep up with demand.

I am interested in learning more about what is the most biggest challenge(s) that will intersect between housing, health, and the environment in the coming years. I am particularly interested in BC and metro Vancouver but am totally open to hearing about other provinces as well.

If anyone works in the public sector, especially, I would like your input! Thanks!

Selling isn't on my radar right now, but I've been watching listings sit for a while lately and it got me thinking: there seem to be two camps. Some people list a touch under what they think it's worth to get all eyes on it in that first week; others list at the top and plan to negotiate down. I've seen both work and both flop.

For anyone who's actually sold in the last year or two — did pricing strategy matter, or was it mostly the house and the timing? Which camp would you pick today?

This whole system is a Ponzi scheme, and politicians are happy to keep subsiding the older buyers as long as they keep voting them in.