Stronger demand impelled more new construction in the area
West GTA is representing a growing share of the region’s home purchases, according to a new analysis of data from the TREB by RE/MAX of Ontario-Atlantic Canada.
Halton Region – which includes Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville – accounted for 10.1% of the GTA’s residential property sales as of the end of last year, growing by 2.3% from 2013 to 2018. Toronto West also climbed by nearly 1% to 10.5%.
RE/MAX of Ontario-Atlantic Canada executive vice president Christopher Alexander attributed Halton Region’s numbers to a sustained appetite for affordable housing, which fuelled accelerated construction in the area.
“Product was coming on-stream at a time when the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) reported its lowest inventory in years and skyrocketing housing values were raising red flags. Freehold properties in the suburbs farther afield spoke to affordability.”
New housing starts in Halton Region stood at an average of 3,100 annually between 2013 and 2016.
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“Freehold properties remain the choice of most purchasers in Halton Region and Toronto West,” Alexander noted. “The same is true to a lesser extent in Toronto Central, but condominiums continue to gain ground. Just over one in three properties sold in the GTA was a condominium in 2018 and that figure is higher in the core. As prices climb in both the city and suburbs, the shift toward higher-density housing will continue, with fewer single-detached developments coming to pass.”
In comparison, Toronto Central’s market share increased by 1.9% from 2013 to 2018, up to 18.7%. Simcoe County ticked up by 0.6% to a 3.1% share.
Peel Region, which accounted for over one-fifth (20.7%) of the GTA’s market activity as of the end of last year, actually slipped by 0.5% in the 5-year interval. York Region suffered the largest decrease at 3.2%, down to a 15.3% share.
East Toronto declined by 1.7%, down to 9.3%. Durham Region was relatively unscathed at a 0.3% drop, accounting for 11.5% of the overall market.
