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Real estate has changed a lot over the past few years.
Here in Peterborough & the Kawarthas, we’ve watched the market move from the intensity of the pandemic years to higher interest rates, changing buyer expectations, more cautious consumers and, now, a market that looks very different from the one many people became accustomed to.
It can be easy to focus on what’s difficult.
But maybe there’s another way to look at this moment — not as something we simply have to get through, but as an opportunity to think about the kind of real estate community we want to build here.
A different kind of market
The Peterborough market has been settling into a more balanced environment.
In July 2026, 98 homes sold in the City of Peterborough, compared with 102 in July 2025. The average sale price was $605,068, down 2.7% from the same month last year. Active listings were also down year over year, with 325 homes on the market at the end of July compared with 360 a year earlier.
Those numbers tell a story, but they don’t tell the whole story.
Behind every transaction is a person, a family, a move, a decision or sometimes a major life change.
A buyer trying to figure out what they can realistically afford.
A seller wondering whether this is the right time to make a move.
A family moving into the area for a new opportunity.
Someone downsizing after decades in the same home.
A first-time buyer trying to make sense of a process they’ve never been through before.
That’s the part of real estate that doesn’t show up in a market report.
We know our communities are more than numbers
Peterborough & the Kawarthas is a collection of very different communities.
Peterborough, Lakefield, Millbrook, Norwood, Hastings, Apsley, Campbellford, Bridgenorth and the surrounding rural areas each have their own character, housing stock, challenges and opportunities.
For REALTORS® working here, local knowledge matters.
It’s knowing that the market in one neighbourhood can feel very different from another. It’s understanding the appeal of a rural property versus a downtown home. It’s knowing the communities, the streets, the seasonal patterns and the people who make these places home.
And it’s understanding that real estate is ultimately a people business.
That matters even more when the market gets challenging.
How we treat each other matters
David Ursino recently wrote about the idea that hope is part of the job, particularly for those who have influence within the real estate industry. His argument isn’t about ignoring problems or pretending everything is fine. It’s about what we contribute when things are difficult — and whether we’re helping build the future or simply criticizing the present.
That’s an idea that resonates locally.
Our industry is made up of REALTORS®, brokers, administrators, lenders, lawyers, home inspectors, contractors, photographers, stagers and countless other professionals who work together every day.
We’re not always going to agree.
We shouldn’t.
Healthy debate, accountability and different perspectives are important.
But there is a difference between challenging an idea and tearing down the person who holds it.
In a relatively small community like Peterborough & the Kawarthas, the way we conduct ourselves matters. The people we encounter across the negotiating table today may be the people we work with again tomorrow.
There is always someone learning
One of the simplest ways to make our industry stronger is to share what we know.
Maybe it’s an experienced REALTOR® answering a question from someone new to the business.
Maybe it’s sharing a resource that helped solve a problem.
Maybe it’s helping a colleague understand a new technology or finding a better way to serve a client.
Maybe it’s simply taking the time to explain something rather than making someone feel like they should already know the answer.
Real estate is complicated enough without making people feel like they have to figure everything out alone.
And in a changing industry, none of us knows everything.
The agents who are successful five or ten years from now won’t necessarily be the ones who know everything today. They’ll be the ones who remain willing to learn.
The next chapter is already here
Artificial intelligence is changing the way REALTORS® work.
Consumer expectations are changing.
The way people search for homes, communicate with professionals and make decisions is changing.
And the market itself will continue to change.
We don’t get to control all of that.
What we can control is how we respond.
We can keep learning.
We can share knowledge.
We can support newer professionals.
We can have difficult conversations without losing respect for one another.
We can embrace useful technology without losing the human side of the business.
And we can continue to take pride in the communities we serve.
Hope looks local
Hope doesn’t mean pretending the market is easy.
It doesn’t mean ignoring challenges or putting a positive spin on every statistic.
It means believing that what we do still matters.
Here in Peterborough & the Kawarthas, there are people who will continue to buy homes, sell homes, build businesses, move closer to family, downsize, invest, relocate and start new chapters.
They’ll need knowledgeable professionals to help them navigate those decisions.
And they’ll remember how we made them feel along the way.
That’s the opportunity in front of us.
To build a real estate industry that is knowledgeable without being intimidating. Competitive without being cutthroat. Professional without losing its humanity.
To be the kind of people who help each other get better.
Because markets change.
Technology changes.
The way we do business changes.
But the importance of people doesn’t.
Maybe hope isn’t about waiting for the market to get easier. Maybe it’s about choosing to be part of what makes the future better — one client, one colleague and one conversation at a time.
And here in Peterborough & the Kawarthas, that’s a pretty good place to start.
Sources
This article was inspired by David Ursino’s “Hope is the job,” published by Real Estate Magazine on August 28, 2026.
Local market information referenced in this article is based on Century 21 United Realty’s July 2026 Peterborough real estate market analysis, using CLAR/TRREB MLS® resale residential data.
