Toronto may get all the media attention for being a hot market, but the most expensive place to buy a property in the GTA is actually King City, at almost $1.5 million – and that price actually represents a 30 per cent plunge from last September, when King City properties were selling for just over $2 million, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board’s (TREB) September report.
The least expensive place to buy a property is in Oshawa, at about $490,000. Oshawa, in fact, is the only city that TREB covers in which the average property price remains at under half a million, which is consistent with last September.
Overall, housing prices in the Greater Toronto Area edged up nearly 3 per cent year over year this September, with the average price now just under $800,000.
The average property price disguises significant variations in housing types. Overall, detached houses have softened, while condo prices have climbed.
Toronto condos grew 10 per cent to $570,140 while detached homes slipped 0.6 per cent to of $1,008,361. Semi-detached homes grew 5.3 per cent to $792,353 and townhouses for sale increased 4.1 per cent to $634,314.
“Generally speaking, annual rates of price growth have been stronger for higher density home types in 2018, including condominium apartments, townhouses and semi-detached houses,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s director of market analysis.
“In many neighbourhoods, these home types provide more affordable home ownership options. This is why a policy focus on increasing mid-density housing options throughout the GTA is important.”
Condos for sale in downtown Toronto remain the most expensive place to purchase a unit across TREB, at $687,701. It is also where most prospective buyers choose to purchase a condo — 838 units were sold this September, or 48 per cent of all units across TREB, including the eastern and western boroughs of the 416.
The least expensive area is technically Innisfil, at $310,000, but only a single condo was sold.
TREB expects prices to continue to creep up, as long as new listings outpace sales.
“New listings entered into TREB’s MLS® System in September 2018 amounted to 15,920 – down by 3.1 per cent compared to September 2017,” reads the September TREB report. “With sales up year-over-year and new listings down, market conditions became tighter. Many buyers may have found it more difficult to find a home meeting their needs.”
Check out the infographic below for more sales and price data:
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Lead image Credit: Maple Tree Publishing
