Pope seeks re-election
Councillor decides to run again this fall
Rob Pope, who was first elected in Ward 2 in 2022, has filed his nomination papers to run again in October.
Until this week, Pope had refused to say whether he would seek re-eleciton. He is currently the only candidate in his ward. Candidates have until next Friday, Aug. 21 to file their nomination papers for the Monday, October 26 election.
At this point, Karen Ulrich is the only candidate in Ward 1, Mike Metcalf is the sole candidate for mayor, and Rick English is the only one running for deputy mayor. They will be acclaimed if no one else comes forward.
In Ward 3 (Campbellford), Sandra Walls, Nader Eid and Viv Smallwood are seeking election. In Ward 4 (Warkworth), Ken Tully and Emilio Ojeda are the candidates. In Ward 5 (Hastings), Ethan Armit, Bob Crate and Dennis Savery are running.
Home prices, sales both slide
There were 21 homes sold in Trent Hills in July, down from 26 in June, according to the Central Lake Association of Realtors. The median price fell 9 per cent to $498,000 from $547,500 from the previous month.
Twenty of the homes were detached, with a median price of $488,700, while one semi-detached unit sold for $620,000.
Seventy new listings came on the market in July and there were 163 homes for sale at the end of the month, up from 152 at the end of June. The homes that sold had been on the market an average of 48 days, up from 42 days in June and 32 days in May, reflecting a slowing market.
In comparison, in July 2025, 20 homes sold in Trent Hills with a median price of $685,000.
So far in 2026, 114 homes have sold with a median price of $575,000. In the same period in 2025, 134 homes sold with a median price of $565,000.
In a report to council on July 28, the planning department said the number of rural severances is up this year but construction in approved subdivisions remains slow. Some preparation work is underway in several developments but not a lot of actual construction.
Roughly 1,800 units are still in the pipeline in the municipality, likely to be constructed to by 2050, which would add about 2,700 residents, the report says. There are 953 units approved or proposed in Hastings and 664 in Campbellford.