It used to be that if you moved out of the 416 area code to a bedroom community in the 905 region-someplace like Markham, Pickering or Brampton-that you were looking to purchase a detached house; particularly the kind of house that was prohibitively expensive in Toronto. To put it bluntly, ten years ago condominiums in the suburbs were not particularly popular. To homebuyers, condominium living was seen as being a downtown kind of lifestyle.
In the intervening years, the housing market sure has changed. With nearly half of condominiums purchased in July located in the suburbs, it turns out that builders are seeing condominium projects in bedroom communities as a sign of an emerging trend.
There are a couple of reasons for the shift in thinking, with the two big reasons being a lack of detached housing stock and the general cost of real estate. These reasons, coupled with changes to the housing market this year, namely altered mortgage rules and the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax, have homebuyers looking in different directions while making that all important housing decision.
However, as builders rush to complete condo projects, it’s important to ensure that they don’t overbuild.
