House prices rise in parts of GTA

Cost for a detached home jumped in 34% of Toronto neighbourhoods

Sure, the real estate market is down. But in 47 per cent of 905-area neighbourhoods and 34 per cent of Toronto neighbourhoods, detached home prices continued to rise in the second quarter of the year.

A Re/MAX analysis of 65 Toronto-region neighbourhoods tells a story of two markets: a blockbuster in the first quarter and a slumped second quarter, following the province’s Fair Housing policy announcement in April, said Christopher Alexander, Ontario-Atlantic region director for Re/MAX Integra.

Affordability is a big part of the picture, he said.

“The vast majority of upward-trending markets in the 905 were under $1million. With interest rates still low, under $1million is affordable for a lot of households,” Alexander said.

Affordability in the Toronto region often comes with a commute to the city. Brock, near Lake Simcoe, had an 11.73-per-cent increase in the average price of a detached home from the first to the second quarter.

Caledon was up 8.61per cent and Halton Hills saw a 7.75-per-cent average price rise.

In Toronto, detached home prices south of Bloor St. west to the Humber River dropped about 20 per cent and the Rosedale/Moore Park area saw a 22-per-cent price decline.

But Alexander cautions those area averages could be skewed by the sale of some luxury homes. In the first quarter, the majority of Rosedale sales, for example, were over $5 million, he said.

More typical would be moderate price increases of 7.59 per cent in the zone that includes Riverdale, Greenwood-Coxwell and Blake-Jones. The Junction-High Park area saw a similar rise of about 7 per cent.

The Re/MAX analysis is based on the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) map, which divides the city into zones — most incorporate multiple neighbourhoods.

The report is a snapshot of an extraordinary year in Toronto-area house sales, Alexander said. But the real picture is a year-over-year price comparison and, year over year, prices are up, he said. The Re/MAX report is based on TREB statistics, which are published monthly. The board reported that the average detached home price rose about 8 per cent year over year in June in the Toronto region.

Alexander acknowledged there were areas that went down in price between the first and second quarter. But, he said, as a realtor that just means there are opportunities for buyers who have more choices than they did a couple of months ago and can negotiate with conditions on their offers.