The Canadian housing market is an interesting thing. For the past year and a half, all eyes have been on B.C., especially on Vancouver where housing prices have been astronomically high and there are more housing starts every day. Well now, those starts are still happening but the actual number of homes that are selling is dropping. While that has many in Vancouver cheering, it’s also brought Toronto’s housing market to the limelight, and now has everyone waiting to see what will happen there.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver came out with some stats this week showing that the number of new listings, or essentially the number of homes put on the market, was down 14% in March when compared with last year, but that they were also up 5.2% just since February. What might be most indicative though, of the fact that Vancouver’s housing market is starting to slow is the fact that the total number of sales was down a considerable 29.6% – that’s the lowest Vancouver’s seen in almost a decade.
It’s still not good news for Vancouver homebuyers, though. Even with the number of starts and listings dropping, the average cost of a Vancouver home is still a whopping $679,000 – a figure that’s up 5.3% from last year. So, what does this mean for Canada’s other hot housing markets?
According to Katie Archdekin, head of mortgage products at BMO, “With Vancouver now well back from peak activity, Toronto is definitely the market to watch.” And she’s not wrong. Toronto is seeing a surge in the condo market, just as Vancouver has recently, and the 50.4% increase Ontario housing starts was due solely to the condo boom in Toronto. This is likely due to the number of Torontonians that are looking for convenience over value, preferring to take on a condo mortgage in Toronto if it’s right downtown, rather than a single-detached in the ‘burbs – even if that single home is much, much cheaper.
No, the people of Toronto aren’t afraid to spend their money – there’s also been a large increase in the number of luxury properties that have sold in Toronto, with sales increasing on homes that are priced at $2 million or more. But Toronto isn’t the only city in Canada that’s taking a longer look at luxury properties. Calgary mortgages are also starting to lean towards the high end, with International Realty Canada saying that the luxury market here is one that’s “developing.”
It’s not at quite the breakneck speed of that of Toronto’s market though, with a home in Toronto’s Summerhill neighbourhood recently selling for $370,000 above its asking price. With stats like those being seen more and more every day on the Toronto market, it’s not difficult to see why Toronto’s housing market is definitely the one to watch in Canada.
