Advertisement
Proudly Canadian, obsessively Toronto. Subscribe to Toronto Life!
Real Estate

Real Estate Cheat Sheet: the average house price in Toronto is now over $800,000

By Frances McInnis
Copy link
Real Estate Cheat Sheet: the average house price in Toronto is now over $800,000
(Image: Jeremy Burgin)

In most of Canada, home prices are starting to stagnate (or even fall), suggesting that the country’s real estate market is finally starting to cool (the stricter mortgage regulations enacted by Jim Flaherty at the start of the summer seem to be taking effect). However, in Toronto, single-family detached homes continue to be the holy grail of real estate. This week, the Toronto Real Estate Board reported that the average price of a detached house has again moved north of $800,000 for the first time after dipping over the summer. So what gives? We break down the numbers, and what they mean.  

• The average cost of a detached house in Toronto now exceeds $800,000 (it’s $805,308, to be exact), jumping 17 per cent compared to the same time last year, according to a mid-month report from TREB. That’s in keeping with what experts have been saying for months, namely that detached homes in Toronto are still highly coveted and in short supply.

• TREB says that higher prices, stricter lending guidelines and the land transfer tax have all made residents more reluctant to move. Instead, they are keeping their current homes and doing renovations, which means there are fewer homes for sale.

• It does bear stating that average house prices can be skewed if a certain segment of the market—say, luxury homes—isn’t moving in the same direction or at the same pace as the rest of the market. The Teranet-National Bank composite house price index, released earlier today, measures the change in price on repeat sales of single-family homes. It suggests that prices were up only 8.3 per cent in Toronto over last year—still an increase, but not as eyebrow-raising as the TREB number.

• According to TREB, the average price of a condo in Toronto was up just five per cent, to $352,851, which also fits with signs (and pundit predictions) of a slowing in the condo market. Overall, the average selling price for all types of homes in Toronto was $536,128, up 16 per cent.

• In the 905, the average price of a detached single-family home was $563,739—a smaller jump of six per cent compared to mid-September 2011. For condos, the average price actually dropped 2 per cent, to $287,467.

• GTA Realtors Release Mid-Month Resale Figures [TREB]Average Toronto home price hits $800,000 [Toronto Star]‘Average’ house prices don’t tell the whole story [CBC]Canadian home resale prices up slightly in August [Montreal Gazette]

NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY

Sign up for This City, our free newsletter about everything that matters right now in Toronto politics, sports, business, culture, society and more.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The Latest

Neighbourhood Crawl: What National Ballet principal dancer Guillaume Côté loves about Leslieville
City

Neighbourhood Crawl: What National Ballet principal dancer Guillaume Côté loves about Leslieville

Inside the Latest Issue

The February issue of Toronto Life features Scottie Barnes, the new face of the Raptors—and the team’s best chance of salvation. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.