Exodus of homebuyers from GTA affecting small towns
It’s the kind of pretty heritage house that would almost certainly come with a price tag north of $1.5 million in the Greater Toronto Area.
But in Tillsonburg, about two and a half hours south of Toronto, the fourbedroom, two-bathroom property on Lisgar Avenue — with main-floor laundry, hardwood floors, high ceilings and crown moulding — is listed for $559,900. It will almost certainly sell for more. Tillsonburg homes have been lately attracting offers $50,000 to $100,000 over the asking price thanks in large part to the ongoing exodus of Toronto-area residents, who expect to continue their new-found work-from-home freedom beyond the pandemic.
“We’re seeing a huge influx of clients from the GTA. There’s not a lot of movement going on within Tillsonburg. It’s a lot of people that are taking advantage of the market and are making a life change,” said listing agent Tammy Kyle of Century 21 Heritage House Ltd.
That can be frustrating for locals, she said. First-time and move-up buyers in the area find themselves competing with other purchasers accustomed to Toronto prices.
In many smaller centres in Ontario, the arriving wave of telecommuters from the GTA is driving prices beyond the means of locals, according to realtors.
The Canadian Real Estate Association reported Thursday that Tillsonburg’s
March benchmark price of $491,300 was 42 per cent higher than the same month last year.
The story was similar in other small communities. Woodstock-Ingersoll and the Quinte area, which includes Belleville, also reported 45 per cent yearover-year gains to $562,300 and $470,400, respectively.
By comparison, Toronto’s benchmark price was $999,400 last month — a 16.5 per cent year-over-year rise.
“People can sell their condo in Toronto or anywhere in the GTA and they can buy their dream home on a beautiful property in Tillsonburg, so it’s really driven our prices up a lot,” Kyle said.
Only 20 minutes to Highway 401 and half an hour to Lake Erie, Tillsonburg’s charms are attracting the kind of multiple bids familiar to Toronto househunters. Kyle said she had a buyer a month ago who bid on a house that attracted 48 offers. That sort of thing has slowed somewhat, however, with more homes coming on the spring market.
In the Belleville area where listings are at near-record scarcity, local first-time buyers are being forced to compete with purchasers from both the GTA and Ottawa coming with cash offers, said Don McColl, president of the Quinte and District Association of Realtors.
He was working with clients on an offer in Stirling, north of Belleville, last month that drew 19 offers.
“I’ve had buyers who have ended up having the best price but if they have a financing clause, for example, the (seller) will take a little bit less to get a firm deal,” he said. “A year ago we were seeing multiple offers, with pricing up $30,000 or $40,000 above asking. Now we’re seeing $180,000 above asking and they’re coming in with cash offers.”
As for the internet, he said, it’s fine in town. But McColl lives out in the country.
“You can’t do a Zoom meeting at home 90 per cent of the time” — at least not with the video on, he said.
Internet service is the number one question property buyers ask agents in North Bay, said Royal LePage broker Susan Symons, who is seeing multiple offers on virtually all property sales in her area, which extends in a one-and-a-half-hour radius from the city centre. Highspeed internet is great in about 80 per cent of that territory, she said.
Symons said COVID has prompted tremendous interest in North Bay from people looking for lower prices and space. About three hours north of Toronto, North Bay’s benchmark price of $305,700 was up 40 per cent in March over the same month last year.
The market for recreational properties started taking off three or four years ago. But this year it has soared, she said.
“Vacant land with rocks and trees — people want that. They want space, they want to feel like they can breathe,” said Symons, but for the locals, the real estate environment “is frustrating, maybe saddening.”
But it’s not clear how long the out-of-town interest will last in a place where its tough to show homes in the evening during the winter because it’s dark by 4:30 p.m. and clients can’t see the exterior.
“When it gets cold here it gets cold,” said Symons. “The weather is different and it’s a lifestyle.
“People are looking for something to find joy. I think there will be some people who will say, ‘This is fun but we’re going back to more urban centres.’ ”