Go west – GTA new-home buyers looking beyond Toronto

The level of new home price inflation in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in 2017 was astronomical, topping 40 per cent year over year. Single-family housing remains the most desirable property type among young families, and many are willing to extend their commute to find the type of low-density development they want, as the communities in which they currently reside don’t have housing that fits their budget.

New housing data indicates that prospective buyers are looking west, especially in ex-urban communities such as Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph. Future new-home buyers want to live in communities with young families, new schools and plenty of young children for their kids to play with. However, you’re not seeing as much of this demographic in new-home projects in the GTA, as the average price of a new single-detached house that was completed and sold in 2017 was $1.02 million, according to CMHC.

Affordability has become a big factor for first-time homebuyers. If you’re looking in the west, the average new single-detached home completed in Oakville last year was $1.75 million and $2.26 million in Burlington! These homes are selling to first or second move-up buyers with teenaged kids.

So, young professionals looking for a single-family home have been looking in Hamilton, Dundas, Ancaster, Stoney Creek and Grimsby. CMHC data shows that the average single-detached home that was completed in 2017 in Stoney Creek and Grimsby sold for approximately $500,000, while the average priced single in Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough and Glanbrook was slightly more than $470,000. With homes selling for $1.75 million less in Stoney Creek than in Burlington, it only makes sense that buyers are looking that way.

Keep in mind that the homes are different sizes and are situated on different lot sizes, but it’s all about the end-selling price. Developers in these communities are catering to these price-sensitive buyers, offering smaller homes on smaller lots.

How far are you willing to go to find a new home for your family? Unfortunately, it doesn’t get that much cheaper the further west you go – the average price of a new single-detached home that completed in 2017 in the Windsor CMA was $465,000.

Which way are you going to go in 2018 – east or west?