Bought a Home at the Peak? What Selling at a Loss Really Means

If you bought a home between 2021 and 2023, there’s a good chance the market looks very different from the one you bought into.

Across Ontario and particularly in the Greater Toronto Area, some homeowners who purchased during the pandemic-era market boom are now finding that their homes could sell for less than they originally paid.

That sounds alarming. But there’s an important distinction between selling a home for less than you paid and actually being in a financially impossible position.

And here in Peterborough & the Kawarthas, the story is a little more nuanced.

What happened to the market?

The 2021 and early 2022 housing market was unusual by almost any measure.

Low borrowing costs, limited inventory and a surge in demand pushed prices rapidly higher. Buyers were competing against multiple offers, properties were selling quickly and, in some cases, homes were changing hands for considerably more than they had just months earlier.

Then the conditions changed.

Interest rates rose sharply beginning in 2022, borrowing became more expensive and buyer demand cooled. Prices followed.

That created a particularly difficult situation for people who bought near the top of the market.

New data reported by the Financial Post illustrates just how significant that correction has been in the Toronto area. According to HouseSigma data cited by the publication, 82.9% of Toronto-area homes purchased in 2022 and resold through July 2026 sold for less than their previous purchase price.

Those numbers are striking — but they shouldn’t automatically be applied to Peterborough.

Peterborough had its own version of the boom

Peterborough and the surrounding communities experienced many of the same forces that affected markets across Ontario.

Demand surged during the pandemic, buyers looked beyond the GTA and properties in Peterborough, Lakefield, Buckhorn and other Kawartha communities became increasingly attractive to people looking for more space, affordability or a lifestyle change.

Prices rose significantly.

But the correction that followed also changed the local market.

Today, buyers have considerably more choice than they did during the height of the pandemic market. And sellers are having to adjust to a market where pricing accurately matters much more than it did a few years ago.

For some perspective, 71 homes sold in the City of Peterborough in September 2026, compared with 91 in September 2025 — a 22% year-over-year decline. The average sale price was $567,733, down 9% from $624,074 a year earlier. Active listings, however, were relatively stable at 368 compared with 364 the previous September.

That combination tells us something important: this isn’t simply a story about prices falling.

It’s a story about buyers, sellers and expectations adjusting to a different market.

But what if you paid more than your home is worth today?

This is where the word “loss” can be misleading.

Imagine someone bought a Peterborough home in 2022 for $750,000 and the property would realistically sell for $675,000 today.

On paper, that’s a $75,000 decline.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the homeowner has lost $75,000 in the way we might think of a stock market loss.

If they’ve continued making mortgage payments, they’ve potentially built equity through principal repayment. They may also have made improvements to the property.

And, most importantly, they still own the home.

The loss becomes real when they actually sell for less than their purchase price — and even then, the overall financial outcome depends on the mortgage balance, down payment, improvements, selling costs and how long they owned the property.

That’s why looking at the purchase price alone doesn’t tell the whole story.

The bigger issue may be the reason for selling

For someone who bought in 2021 or 2022 and doesn’t need to move, today’s market may simply mean waiting.

But not every homeowner has that option.

A job relocation, divorce, growing family, retirement, estate situation or other major life change can make selling necessary, regardless of market conditions.

That’s when the conversation becomes less about “Can I get back what I paid?” and more about:

What does the market say my home is worth today, and what makes the most sense for my situation?

Those aren’t always the same question.

Your home’s value isn’t determined by what you paid

This can be one of the hardest things for homeowners to accept.

If you paid $700,000 for a house in 2022, it doesn’t mean the house is worth $700,000 today simply because that’s what you need to break even.

Today’s buyers are comparing your property with the homes currently available and, more importantly, with recent comparable sales.

They aren’t looking at your mortgage balance or what you paid three years ago.

They’re looking at today’s market.

That’s why pricing based on current comparable sales is so important — particularly in a market where buyers have more options.

And this isn’t necessarily bad news for everyone

The other side of the story is that the same market that creates challenges for some sellers can create opportunities for buyers.

Someone who couldn’t compete in 2021 may now have more time to consider a property, more negotiating room and a wider selection of homes.

For move-up buyers, there can also be an interesting dynamic.

If you’re selling a $500,000 home that has declined in value and buying an $800,000 home that has also declined, the price difference between the two properties may have narrowed.

The market doesn’t affect every property in exactly the same way, but a changing market can create opportunities that weren’t available when prices were rising rapidly.

The Peterborough market isn’t Toronto

It’s worth repeating because headlines can make it easy to forget.

A national or GTA statistic doesn’t automatically describe what’s happening in Peterborough, Lakefield, Otonabee-South Monaghan, Cavan Monaghan, Selwyn or the surrounding Kawarthas.

Even within Peterborough, different neighbourhoods and property types can behave very differently.

CREA itself cautions that average prices are useful for looking at broader trends but don’t necessarily represent the value of an individual property or account for differences between local markets and property types.

That’s why a homeowner trying to understand their own position needs more than a national headline.

They need to know what comparable homes are actually selling for in their neighbourhood, in their price range and in their property category.

So, should you sell if you bought at the peak?

There’s no universal answer.

If you don’t need to sell, holding onto a property through a market correction can be very different from being forced to sell during one.

If you do need to sell, waiting indefinitely for the market to return to your purchase price may not always be the best strategy either.

The right decision depends on your circumstances, your mortgage, your equity, your plans and what you’re hoping to do next.

The most useful first step is often a straightforward conversation about where your property actually sits in today’s market — without assuming it has to be worth what it was in 2021 or 2022.

Because the most important number isn’t necessarily what you paid.

It’s what your home is worth today, and what that means for your next move.

Sources

• Financial Post, “Toronto-area homeowners are coming to terms with new reality: selling at a loss” (September 7, 2026), reporting HouseSigma data on Toronto-area properties purchased between 2021 and 2023 and subsequently resold.
• CENTURY 21 United Realty Inc. Brokerage, “Real Estate Market Analysis for September 2026” — Peterborough market statistics.
• Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), MLS® Home Price Index and national housing market statistics.
• Canadian Real Estate Association, 2026–2027 resale housing market forecast.