We all know that Toronto's real estate market is expensive just like we all know that the sky is frickin' blue. But, have you ever wondered just how much the average house prices have changed throughout your lifetime?
Re/Max just published a housing market comparison for the GTA that looks at the average prices in 1996 and contrasts them to what homebuyers spent in 2021 last year.
Back in 1996, Toronto homes were up on the market for an average of $198,150, which just simply does not exist in today's housing market. If you're wondering how much that would cost in 2021 after inflation it would come out to be $311,185.57, according to the Bank of Canada's inflation calculator.
In 2021, prospective homeowners would see houses on the market for an average of $1,095,475, which is an eye-watering 453% more than what your parents likely doled out on their first homes.
So, how do the prices vary across the GTA?
"Triple-digit increases in sales were noted in Toronto Central, Halton Region, York Region, Simcoe County and Dufferin County over the past 25 years, while average sale prices reached new heights across the greater Toronto housing market, with percentage increases climbing between 1996 and 2021, from a low of 301 per cent in Toronto Central, to a high of 874 per cent in York Region," the report reads. Ouch.
Houses in York went for $132,444 to a tear-jerking $1,291,217 in 2021, which is a $1,158,773 price difference. Considering the cost of inflation, however, that house in the '90s would have actually been $207,997.28 on the market last year. Sheesh.
Durham Region had the second-highest jump from $152,353 to $925,710 last year, or a $773,357 mark-up over the last quarter of a century.
Throughout the GTA now, land availability, low-interest rates, and lack of affordability have come to a standstill in the area nowadays.
So, what brought people to move to areas like Halton, Durham, Peel, and York in the first place were new constructions as well as starter homes on smaller lots which caught the eyes of many first-time homebuyers.
"Over the past quarter century, vertical growth has played a significant role in rising sales figures within the 416, with condominium apartments and townhomes now exceeding freehold sales in Central Toronto, accounting for 76 per cent of sales, according to TRREB data," the market report reads.
So, anyone else looking at the bank of mom and dad to settle down in the GTA?