If you're a prospective homebuyer in Toronto, you've surely adjusted your search filters at one point or another to investigate all of the enticing real estate deals outside of the GTA. 

After all, some of the most affordable properties in Ontario are naturally great distances away from Toronto's downtown core — but it looks like even budget-friendly sales prices aren't enough to pull away some buyers from the city. 

According to a new report from RE/MAX, the real estate market of Ontario's trans-border city, Windsor, has been notably sluggish amid economic conditions despite some limited growth during the pandemic. 

Due to its affordability, some households did relocate to Windsor during lockdowns and took advantage of the rock-bottom prices, however, that growth didn't last very long. 

Home prices in this Ontario city have nearly doubled since the pandemic hit https://t.co/mpF6woWOPb #Ontario #RealEstate

— blogTO (@blogTO) March 7, 2022

By the end of lockdowns, costs had once again become too high and priced many families out of the market, and, fast forward to October 2023, the city's real estate market has come to a "screeching halt," RE/MAX reports. 

According to the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors, residential property sales did advance by 7.4 per cent in October 2023.

However, this might still be an anomaly considering that home sales were more than 28 per cent below the five-year average, and on a year-to-date basis, home sales have slumped nearly 17 per cent compared to the same span a year ago. 

Here are the few places in Ontario where you can still buy a home for relatively cheap 🏠 https://t.co/7imhU6S0nF #Ontario #RealEstate #Affordability

— blogTO (@blogTO) November 8, 2023

Moreover, the average sales prices of homes sold in October 2023 in Windsor tumbled about two per cent to $526,535, and the year-to-date average price has also plunged 10.7 per cent to $550,571. 

According to the report, the breakdown of the benchmark price for three main property categories in Windsor is $619,000 for single-family homes, $435,700 for townhouses and $398,000 for apartments. 

Despite this, supply has improved in the city's housing market, with new and active residential listings climbing 21.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent, respectively, in October. 

In Toronto, the housing market recorded 4,646 home sales in October, down 5.8 per cent when compared to October 2022, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). 

A drop in transactions was also witnessed throughout all major home types in Toronto, including an 11.5 per cent decline in the sale of townhouses. 

Toronto home prices expected to decline even further in 2024👀 https://t.co/HCL6xmiXmJ #Toronto #TorontoRealEstate

— blogTO (@blogTO) November 28, 2023

Price gains were seen throughout most of the major home types in Toronto to kick off the fourth quarter, with the average selling price for detached homes being $1,450,112, semi-detached being $1,102,721 and condos being $708,780. 

Despite boasting wildly different sales prices, the two markets share a number of similar trends. Both cities have seen an explosion of new stock, while at the same time, witnessing slowing sales activity, modest price growth and ballooning supply.

According to the report, the one positive takeaway for both markets is that the Bank of Canada is likely finished raising interest rates, which could "alleviate some of the mortgage cost pressures" affecting households across Canada.