Real estate in Ontario: +29.9% on prices despite Covid-19 crisis
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A 29,9% increase in real estate in Ontario
Despite an unprecedented economic crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, Ontario's housing market is not slowing down. Ontario's real estate prices increased faster between March 2020 and March 2021 than in British Colombia (29.9% vs 20.2%) - which proves Ontario's housing market dynamism despite the gloomy circumstances of the Covid-19. Some reasons can be put forward:
- Demand has accumulated during lockdown, while transactions were blocked
- Ultra-low interest rates
What are the 10 most expensive cities in Ontario for real estate?
Here below are ten cities where real estate prices are the highest in Ontario. Without surprise, we can observe that the great majority of them (except Ottawa) are located near Greater Toronto:
Ottawa, the second largest city, but far and away in the ranking of most expensive cities
It can be surprising that as the capital and the second largest cities in Ontario, Ottawa is far away after the others cities in the province for the average price of real estate. Indeed, the average price in Ottawa in March 2021 is about $611,900 when the one in Toronto exceed $1 million !
Despite that, Ottawa had a great and fast increase of the real estate between March 2020 and March 2021 : 29,1%. How can we explain such a huge increase and an average price really low in comparaison with the other cities in Ontario ?
Real estate prices increase in Ontario per county: overview
The crisis seems not to have stopped the dynamism of the market. On the contrary. The real estate market is in better shape than ever, with ever-increasing prices all around Ontario. There some examples :
| Ontario | March 2020 | March 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | $552,800 | $737,400 | +33,4% |
| Barrie & district | $524,600 | $713,500 | +36% |
| Lakelands | $375,700 | $532,700 | +41.8% |
| Northumberland Hills | $456,100 | $627,400 | +37.6% |
| Kingston & Area | $424,586 | $577,974 | +36.1% |
| Niagara region | $452,400 | $620,700 | +37.2% |
| Brantford & region | $431,200 | $594,900 | +38.0% |
| PeterBorough | $435,100 | $565,500 | +30.0% |
| Kawartha Lakes | $404,300 | $553,400 | +36.9% |
| London St Thomas | $415,600 | $566,000 | +36.2% |
| Woodstock-Ingersoll | $387,000 | $561,600 | +45.1% |
| Simcoe & district | $382,500 | $521,700 | +36.4% |
| Windsor Essex | $352,452 | $520,618 | +47.7% |
| Sarnia lambton | $367,210 | $492,620 | +34.2% |
| Southern Georgian Bay | $420,700 | $592,500 | +40.8% |
| Tillson District | $349,700 | $496,000 | +41.8% |
| Huron Perth | $360,400 | $483,000 | +34.0% |
| Grey Bruce Owen Sound | $324,700 | $428,900 | +32.1% |
Where do Ontario’s real estate rank in comparison with other provinces?
Even if Ontario is known to be a fairly expensive area for real estate, it is not the most expensive in Canada when it comes to buying a house. Indeed, as of March 2021, with an average real estate transaction being in average $890,035, Ontario's prices are lower of $55,000 than the average real estate price in British Columbia - which is the most expensive province in Canada.
However, we can see that prices in Ontario are way above the Canadian average - the average cost of a transaction in this province being $174,000 above the national number. In comparison, it is almost twice more expensive to buy a house in Ontario than in Nova Scotia. Obviously, the city of Toronto and its surroundings are responsible for the real estate prices to be so high, concentrating great parts of the province's economy, jobs and population.
| Rank | Provinces | Average price of a real estate (March 2021) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | British-Columbia | $945,936 |
| 2 | Ontario | $890,035 |
| - | Canada Global | $716,828 |
| 3 | Yukon | $497,187 |
| 4 | Alberta | $443,000 |
| 5 | Northwest Territories | $438,580 |
| 6 | Québec | $435,516 |
| 7 | Nova-Scotia | $362,988 |
| 8 | Manitoba | $338,458 |
| 9 | Prince Edward Island | $330,121 |
| 10 | Newfoundland and labrador | $282,600 |
| 11 | Saskatchewan | $278,400 |
| 12 | New-Brunswick | $253,870 |
| - | Nuvanut | No data |
Antoine Fruchard, insurance expert and Chief Director at Hellosafe.ca
While the year 2020 already represents a dark period for Ontario and Canadian economy as a whole, the real estate market seems more than ever a safe haven. Indeed, while lockdowns have forced a majority of citizens to stay at home, an awareness of the importance of having a pleasant home in has been born. In fact, far from falling, transactions continued to increase, in line with previous years. As for property prices, they do not seem to be in crisis, and continue to rise despite the gloomy circumstances of the moment. Thus, there is a good chance that investors will continue to put their money in stone in the years to come.
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