Average sale price, Windsor-Essex (WECAR, as reported by AM800 CKLW)
$543,955 (down about 3% in a year)As of October 2026.Source
Home sales, Windsor-Essex (WECAR)
382 (down about 21% in a year)As of October 2026.Source
Projected added unemployment in Windsor from US tariffs (Ontario Financial Accountability Office)
1.6 percentage pointsAs of reported September 30, 2026.Source
Population of the City of Windsor, and growth since 2016
229,660 (up 5.7%)As of 2021 Census.Source
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Windsor’s housing numbers are not the whole story. The bigger issue for anyone borrowing on a Windsor home is whether the income behind the payments is secure, and that depends heavily on one industry.

Windsor-Essex: 382 sales and a $543,955 average

As reported by AM800 CKLW, citing the Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS (WECAR), there were 382 residential sales in October 2026, against 483 a year earlier, a drop of about 21%. The average price was $543,955, down just over 3% from about $561,000. Listings fell to 1,090 from 1,261. Year to date, 4,060 homes had sold, down nearly 7%. The most active price range was $420,000 to just under $550,000, with 104 homes sold.

WECAR’s president pointed to the municipal election as a possible reason some people waited. Her words were that nothing in the figures raised a big flag for her personally.

The City of Windsor grew 5.7% to 229,660 people by 2021, from 217,188 in 2016, and the Windsor census metropolitan area reached 422,630.

When the risk is your income, not your equity

A September 30, 2026 Wealth Professional report called Windsor “arguably the most tariff-impacted community in Canada,” with its economy anchored by a Stellantis automotive plant. It said real estate sales fell 15% between early 2025 and early 2026, and that Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office projects US tariffs will add 1.6 percentage points to Windsor’s unemployment rate. A financial adviser in the piece described a couple of dozen clients in a wait-and-see pattern.

CMHC’s October 27, 2026 release points the same way for the province. It expects Ontario arrears, 0.32% in the second quarter of 2026, to keep rising through mid-2027, concentrated in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and southwestern Ontario, and it cites trade tensions affecting automotive manufacturing. Windsor is in southwestern Ontario, though CMHC publishes no Windsor figure.

For a borrower this changes the checklist. Equity is only half of it. Before a second mortgage, ask what happens to the payments if hours are cut, and who you would talk to first. If you are already behind, read what to do when you fall behind, and understand power of sale before it becomes a risk.

A $105,164 cushion against a $36,000 one

Under the 80% limit the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada describes, the first example at the October average has $105,164 of room. At the bottom of the busiest price range, the second has $36,000, and a $40,000 loan is $4,000 over it.

Prices have moved down, and WECAR’s own numbers show falling sales. Do not plan a loan to the last dollar of room. Use the calculator with a cautious value.

City or county?

WECAR’s figures cover Windsor and Essex County, not just the City of Windsor. The city had 229,660 residents in 2021, which is about 54% of the 422,630 in the Windsor census metropolitan area, and nearby LaSalle had 32,721 and Tecumseh 23,300. Prices in the county’s towns can differ from prices inside the city.

Before you plan around the $543,955 average, get an appraisal for your own home, and ask a lender to show you the comparable sales it used.

A payment you could carry on less income

Before applying, work out a payment you could keep up for six months if hours were cut. As a made-up illustration, interest only on $35,000 at an assumed 12% a year is $4,200 a year, or $350 a month. The rate is an assumption, not a quote, and real offers differ. The point is to test the plan against a worse month than today’s.

Fees, and routes that keep the house out of it

Ontario’s land transfer tax applies to purchases, and we found no such line for registering a second mortgage on a home you own. You would pay the lender’s fee, a broker fee, legal costs, an appraisal and the registration fee, itemised on the Ontario page.

If the aim is to cut card payments, debt consolidation shows the total cost, and for credit problems second mortgages with bad credit explains the pricing. A Licensed Insolvency Trustee can explain options that do not put your home at risk.

Confirming a licence before a Windsor loan

Private lenders in Ontario are reached through Level 2 agents and brokers, and the public register will confirm the licence number.

If your Windsor numbers look like either example, send them for a licensed review. Nearby markets include London and Kitchener.

A Windsor-Essex home at the October 2026 average with $330,000 owing

The $543,955 value is WECAR's October 2026 average sale price for Windsor-Essex, used as a stand-in for an appraisal. The $330,000 first mortgage and $35,000 loan are made up. The 80% ceiling is the one the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada describes.

Home value used
$543,955
80% of the home value
$435,164

$543,955 times 0.8, rounded

Room under the ceiling
$105,164

$435,164 minus $330,000

Combined loan-to-value with a $35,000 loan
67.1%

$365,000 owed on $543,955

Room left after the $35,000 loan
$70,164

Equity is not the problem here. The question is whether the payments and the exit plan still work on a lower income.

Illustration only. The figures are made up to show the arithmetic. They are not a quote, a rate or an offer.

A Windsor-Essex home at the bottom of the busiest price range

The $420,000 value is the lower end of the price range in which WECAR counted the most sales in October 2026, used as a stand-in for an appraisal. The $300,000 first mortgage and $40,000 loan are made up.

Home value used
$420,000
80% of the home value
$336,000

$420,000 times 0.8

Room under the ceiling
$36,000

$336,000 minus $300,000

Combined loan-to-value if the full loan were made
81.0%

$340,000 owed on $420,000

Amount the loan exceeds the room by
$4,000

Equity is $120,000, and the loan is only $4,000 over the ceiling. A slightly smaller loan solves it, but the margin for a price fall is zero.

Illustration only. The figures are made up to show the arithmetic. They are not a quote, a rate or an offer.

Questions people ask

Should I take a second mortgage if my Windsor auto job is uncertain?

Be very careful. A second mortgage needs payments or a plan to repay, and a lost shift can leave you short. Borrow only what you could carry on reduced income, and read about falling behind before you sign anything.

What range of Windsor-Essex homes sold most often in October 2026?

WECAR's report says the most active price range was $420,000 to just under $550,000, with 104 homes sold. That is a guide to where the market is busiest. Your home may sit above or below it.

Did the municipal election affect Windsor home sales?

WECAR's president said people being focused on the election may have led some to hold off, and added that nothing in the figures raised a big flag for her. Sales were still down about 21% from October 2025.

How much higher unemployment could tariffs bring to Windsor?

Ontario's Financial Accountability Office projects US tariffs will add 1.6 percentage points to Windsor's unemployment rate, as reported on September 30, 2026. It is a projection and not a certainty, and it does not say who will be affected.

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Sources