Non-Toronto markets in Ontario see accelerated home price growth

While the Toronto residential market has seen the median cost of its housing shrink in Q2 2018, price growth accelerated in other major Ontario locales such as Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, according to the latest Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast.

The average price of a standard 2-storey home increased by 8.9% annually across the region (up to $515,733) in the second quarter of the year. Meanwhile, the median price of a bungalow grew by 6.2% year-over-year (up to $443,572), and the average price of a condominium rose by 5.1% in the same time frame (up to $287,080).

However, Royal LePage Grand Valley Realty broker and owner Keith Church stressed that “while prices are up across all housing categories year-over-year, the rate of appreciation has slowed compared to last quarter’s double-digit year-over-year gains. We are beginning to see a shift towards a balanced market where sales and prices are more stable.”

Read more: Hamilton market enjoys strong price appreciation in Q2

Church added that the region’s economic growth is pulling buyers from the Greater Toronto Area. Royal LePage is also predicting a healthy influx of first-time buyers and retirees looking to downsize into new condominiums.

The aggregate price of a home in the Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge area increased by 8.2% year-over-year in Q2 2018 (up to $485,946). Housing costs in the region are expected to continue increasing at a steady rate in the next quarter, the report noted.

On the national level, price appreciation slowed to a relative crawl in Q2 2018, a development influenced mainly by what was characterized as “softness” in the GTA, where many markets have suffered year-over-year declines in home prices.

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