According to REMAX and Toronto Real Estate Board data, the performance through the first half of 2019 of detached homes in the Greater Toronto Area suggests the market sector has bounced back
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According to REMAX and Toronto Real Estate Board data, the performance through the first half of 2019 of detached homes in the Greater Toronto Area suggests the market sector has bounced back.
In the area comprising North and South Riverdale, Blake-Jones and Greenwood-Coxwell, valuations rose 15.2% in 2019, reaching $1,378,987 from $1,197,133 in 2018.
The area beginning around Kensington-Chinatown and moving westward to Dufferin Grove and Little Portugal rose to $1,953,511 in 2019 from $1,732,193 a year earlier, for a 12.8% increase.
Leaside and Thorncliffe Park rose 11.2% in 2019, hitting $2,193,747 from $1,972,450 a year earlier.
“Detached housing is finally back on track, with year-to-date sales almost 17% ahead of last year’s levels, signaling a return to more normal levels of homebuying activity,” said Christopher Alexander executive vice president and regional director of REMAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “Market share is also climbing, with detached homes now representing 45.7% of all home sales in the Greater Toronto Area, up from 43.1% one year ago.”
Major reasons for the detached segment’s sluggish performance recently are the Ontario Fair Housing Plan, introduced in April 2017, and the B-20 mortgage stress test, which effectively plunged the market into turmoil.
“Fifty-one percent of GTA neighbourhoods saw double-digit increases in sales, 75% of which are south of Highway 401,” continued Alexander. “The other 49% are flat or just below last year’s figures, so in some neighbourhoods you can probably get a deal and in others it’s more difficult. Consumers are in a good position that way; they have options, and as a seller, depending on what neighbourhood you’re in, you’re very much in the driver’s seat.”
Alexander added that homeowners who purchased before 2016 enjoy surging home equity.
“With an average price of $1,380,253 for a detached home, York Region’s Richmond Hill ranked sixth, up 36.1% to 615 sales. The north end of the GTA appears to be in recovery mode, having been particularly hard-hit in the correction. Savvy first-time buyers looking for the best deals in the GTA are likely to find them in York Region, where the dollar seems to stretch further,” said the report.
