The homes now dominating top-tier markets

While the $1 million home may have once reigned supreme, Sotheby Canada reports that $4 million-plus homes have since taken center stage – or at least they have in the country’s pricy metro areas.
 
The realtor found that $4 million-plus properties are in such high demand in Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), they now represent the fastest growing sector in both cities’ housing markets.
 
In particular, Vancouver experienced a 65% rise in sales of $4 million-plus detached single family homes in 2015, compared with a 45% increase in the $2-4 million bracket and 36% in the 1-2 million one, according to Sotheby’s biannual Top Tier Real Estate Report.
 
Similarly, the GTA saw sales of $4 million-plus detached single family homes jump by 67% in 2015, compared with a 42% spike in the $2-4 million range and a 49% increase in the $1-2 million one.
 
Among all properties – condominiums, attached and single family residences – Vancouver saw sales of $4 million-plus homes rise by 67%, while Toronto saw a 71% increase.
 
Sotheby’s International Realty Canada credits a number of factors for the escalated demand of high-end properties, including low interest rates, sustained immigration and tightened supply in the luxury home markets. In addition, it believes that the weak Canadian dollar may be encouraging interest from foreign buyers.  
 
"We had a lot of buyers who were very eager to enter the market, and they were bidding on a limited number of homes, particularly in premier neighbourhoods," Elaine Hung, vice president of marketing, Sotheby’s International Realty Canada told The Canadian Press.
 
And while Montreal saw growth in sales of homes worth over $1 million, Calgary’s high-end housing sales plunged. There, the sales of $1 million-plus homes fell by 41% in 2015.