Residents love to see their home city breaking national records, but the people of Toronto may be more upset than happy about Toronto’s latest record. Toronto recently made headlines for its real estate market trends in February 2022. As of early February, Toronto has overtaken Vancouver as Canada’s most expensive real estate market!
When it comes to their real estate markets and trends, Vancouver has been known to be more valuable and a Canadian favourite. According to Mercer’s 27th annual Cost of Living Survey in June 2021, Vancouver was ranked as the most expensive city to live in Canada. Vancouver placed 93rd in the world as Toronto closely followed as the 98th most expensive city to live in the world and the second most expensive city to live in Canada. Based on this survey, the order of Canada’s most expensive cities was as follows:
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Vancouver, BC
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Toronto, ON
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Montreal, QC
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Calgary, AB
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Ottawa, ON
A report from RBC shows that Toronto’s composite MLS HPI benchmark was $1.260 million while Vancouver’s was $1.255 million in January. Vancouver held the crown for Canada’s most expensive city to live in for decades . Although this report made headlines and shocked many, it does not come as a surprise. Toronto has risen in popularity and became a hot city to live in and its market has been on a rapid increase, especially since last fall.
Take a look at the chart below to see the increase in Toronto’s average sale prices since 2018 .
Housing prices in both cities have been on the rise but Vancouver has not been able to keep up with Toronto’s skyrocketing prices, for the first time in decades. Vancouver’s average sale price rose from $1,140,000 to $1,270,000 between 2019 to 2020 but even that drastic increase couldn’t help Vancouver keep its spot at the top .
Intense bidding wars increased the competition in Toronto and made it difficult to obtain affordable housing. Vancouver’s “rock-bottom” inventories also contributed to it losing its crown to Toronto. The active listings in Vancouver were at a decade-low in January which meant that there was not enough supply for the high demand of housing. In January 2022, Vancouver had 5,633 active listings, 32% down from January 2021 .
It is understandable that this news would bring concern to residents all over Toronto and the GTA. Residents may begin to worry about their living expenses and affordable housing. RBC’S economists do not forecast a decline in Toronto’s real estate trends . However, housing prices may slightly decrease over the next year as a result of high interest rates .
With the prices in Toronto as well as in the rest of the GTA on a constant rise and no expected decline in sight, it is normal to worry about your financial security and have concerns regarding housing. Reach out to your Planulife Advisor today to discuss what your next best move is and get a free financial plan within minutes.
References
Hogue, Robert. 2022. “Which is Canada’s most expensive market? The answer just changed.” RBC Thought Leadership. https://thoughtleadership.rbc.com/which-is-canadas-most-expensive-market-the-answer-just-changed/.
Leet, Morgan. 2022. “Vancouver Is Ranked As A Better City To Live In Than Toronto For Millennials & Gen Z.” Narcity. https://www.narcity.com/vancouver/vancouver-is-ranked-as-a-better-city-to-live-in-than-toronto-for-millennials-gen-z.
Molnar, Coleman. 2021. “Vancouver Is Officially the Most Expensive City in North America.” Complex. https://www.complex.com/life/vancouver-officially-most-expensive-city-in-north-america.
O’Neil, Lauren. 2022. “Toronto is now officially the most expensive city in Canada for houses.” blogTO. https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toronto/2022/02/toronto-now-officially-most-expensive-city-homes-canada/.
Pandurov, Marija. 2022. “Toronto Beats Vancouver as Priciest Real Estate Market.” Reviewlution. https://reviewlution.ca/resources/toronto-vancouver-real-estate/.
Plana, Vincent. 2021. “Global survey names Vancouver the most expensive city in Canada | Urbanized.” Daily Hive. https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-most-expensive-canadian-city.
RE/MAX. 2021. “Vancouver Housing Market Outlook (2021) – RE/MAX Canada News.” Remax Blog. https://blog.remax.ca/vancouver-housing-market-outlook/.
WOWA. 2022. “Vancouver Housing Market: Feb. 3rd, 2022 Update | Map Regional Breakdown.” WOWA.ca. https://wowa.ca/vancouver-housing-market.
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