This week: we take a look at what the Canadian Real Estate Association’s benchmark home price gets you across Canada. Plus, a lender is offering a unique reverse mortgage option and one property worth a look.

As Ontario’s real estate market enters the final stretch of the year, real estate agents and mortgage brokers in Toronto and its surrounding areas have been advising homeowners to consider various scenarios in case they don’t get the price they are hoping for in the time they planned. With buyers exercising more caution this fall, the average “days on market” has stretched to 77 in the Hamilton and Burlington area. Some properties sell in three days, realtors say, while others linger for 200 or more. In an uncertain market, realtors are recommending their sellers make fallback plans – if an elderly client is looking for a more accessible home, they may be better off modifying their current home instead, one realtor said.

The Canadian Real Estate Association collects local sales data from across the country and creates a national benchmark price for the cost of a home, which it releases every month. In October, that price fell to $679,600, down 0.4 per cent from September and down 3 per cent year-over-year. However, that number includes many kinds of homes in Canada, and each of those have local market pressures that shape the price. To illustrate that reality, Shane Dingman looked at what kind of decent-sized homes are available for sale now in five Canadian cities. From cottage homes in Nova Scotia to bungalows in Calgary, here’s what the benchmark price will get you across the country.

Rates shown are the lowest available for each term/type and category (insured versus uninsured) as of market close on Thursday, Nov. 20.

Bloom Finance, a Canadian fintech that specializes in reverse mortgages, announced this week it’s launching the first lifetime fixed-rate reverse mortgage in Canada. As Meera Raman writes, reverse mortgages are loans that let homeowners aged 55+ tap into up to about 55 per cent of their home’s current value. The money you get is tax-free, doesn’t affect government benefits like OAS or GIS, and you don’t have to make monthly payments. Reverse mortgages have long been criticized, in part because of the large amount of interest that accrues in the background, and at high rates. Changing rates at the end of terms is an uncertainty that is nerve-racking for more retirees. But Bloom says it aims to take that anxiety off the table by locking in your interest rate for life. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a useful tool for the right consumer.

15 Concession St. E., Bowmanville, Ont. – Full gallery here

In the town of Bowmanville, there’s a normal-looking bungalow on a corner lot with something to hide. Secret doors in the home open to reveal features and facets of a unique building. After a lengthy renovation from owners who had always dreamed of incorporating unusual elements into a home, the three-bedroom bungalow is now full of surprises. A hidden door behind a basement bookshelf leads to a long room that resembles a speakeasy of the Prohibition era, complete with crystal light fixtures and a restored pool table. And behind the bar? You guessed it, another hidden space – a cigar room, with oak-panelled walls and leather chairs.