Beach home prices lead GTA
Tony Wong – Toronto Star
Homes in the Beach neighbourhood of Toronto showed the highest price appreciation this year, according to a study released today.
Existing detached homes in the downtown family friendly neighbourhood saw a 3.79% increase to $715,422, in the first six months of this year compared to last, according to ReMax Ontario Atlantic Canada.
The report looked at the top performing neighborhoods according to price appreciation.
Despite a recession, the average price of a home (including detached houses and condominiums) for the Greater Toronto Area rose by 2% in June to $403, 972, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.
Comment: Except the recession is officially over. And many of us did not even notice much of one to begin with. But enough about the recession, the Bank of Canada says it is over, thus it is over. Period.
The board stressed that prices increased mainly because greater sales in some high value neighbourhoods skewed prices upward.
Comment: There is also the problem of very low inventory. Listings are down close to 50% from the high point a couple of years ago. Thus there are not enough homes to go around. And this is what is leading to all of the bidding wars – which are pushing prices upwards.
In fact, only 11 of 65 Toronto area districts reported an upswing. But some neighbourhoods, according to the Remax study, outperformed the average.
Comment: It is always the major centres that account for the major swings. Obviously the prices in Toronto and Vancouver are going to have more influence than Winnipeg and Halifax.
In second place was Pickering to the east, where prices climbed 3.72% to $389,536. The north Toronto suburb of Willowdale ranked third, with a home up 3.32% in value, or $779,537.
Comment: And amazingly, Pickering had a 17% increase year-over-year back in June. Who would have thought that such a major price increase would occur outside of Toronto?
The west Toronto neighbourhood of Downsview and Weston showed a 2.25% increase to $384,485. The eastern suburbs of Rouge and Malvern showed a 1.99% increase to $345,468.
The more affordable condominium segment showed the greatest uptick in pricing.
Condos in Cliffcrest and Guildwood in the city’s east end saw the greatest appreciation in value with average prices climbing 6.45% to $175,855.
Comment: I would like to point out that I have been touting the east end as the place to buy for a few years now. Notice that almost all of the neighbourhoods mentioned above are in the east end. Remember when Leslieville and the Studio District were just becoming buzz words? Mark my words, there is still a lot of value in the east and a lot of appreciation to come.
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