Vancouver, with its gorgeous view of the ocean and mountains, has reigned as Canada’s most expensive housing market for quite some time. Despite this long streak of remaining at number one, there’s a new city is stepping in, looking to take their spot.
According to a new report, Toronto is now the most expensive housing market in Canada and has officially beat out Vancouver. Earlier this month, The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) shared an analysis that took a look at early data from real estate boards. This data showed that while Toronto’s composite MLS home price was at $1.260 million, it was closing out Vancouver’s price of $1.255.
“It seemed as one of those unshakable facts that Vancouver reigns supreme as Canada’s priciest market. It’s been so for such a long time (decades!) and by such a wide margin. Not anymore. Toronto took that crown last month,” says Robert Hogue who is a member of the Macroeconomic and Regional Analysis Group, with RBC Economics.
Although this was a surprise in some regards, it didn’t come as quite that large of a shock to those who had been following the market closely. Since the Fall, the Toronto area market has been on the rise and it’s been a prime choice in the housing market.
“Toronto’s benchmark price soared over the past five months, including a mind-blowing 4.3 per cent monthly increase—or nearly $52,000—in January alone. Vancouver prices have accelerated as well, just not to the same extent.”
– Robert Hogue
Many people were surprised to learn that despite the COVID-19 cases that spiked this Winter along with the weather changes, the Toronto real estate market still managed to soar. The city has proven itself and continued to grow in the real estate market despite these obstacles.
Bidding wars have also emerged throughout the GTA and have pushed housing prices to an all-new high. We’ve seen new heights in level ($1.260 million for the composite MLS HPI benchmark) as well as rate of increase (33.3 percent).
It seems that single-family homes were the most popular and what saw the largest increase in the market. Single-family homes had prices up 36% year-over-year and reached as much as 40% higher in the Peel and Durham regions.
To say that this news has made quite a splash in the housing market is an understatement as this is the first time that any Canadian city has overtaken Vancouver in decades. According to the experts, changes in these patterns likely won’t come anytime soon. However, it is expected, due to high-interest rates, that the market may cool off later this year.
