Photo: James Bombales
At this point of the year, you’d be hard pressed to find a housing market expert who’s expecting anything less than a barn-burning 2020 for the Toronto housing market.
The latest prediction comes to us today from brokerage Royal LePage, which has projected a healthy 4.5 percent average detached home price increase for the GTA in the coming year. If it comes to pass, the average GTA detached home would be selling for $1,027,000 by the end of 2020.
Following a plodding 2019 that saw some GTA municipalities endure significant dives in market activity, the next 12 months are promising to be anything but lacklustre. Current market conditions will invariably push prices higher, barring a major economic disruption.
“Inventory is critically low and it is possible that we could see a return to accelerating high price appreciation in the near term without new supply becoming available,” said Kevin Somers, Chief Operating Officer, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Limited, in a media release.
“Areas such as Richmond Hill and Markham, which were among the hardest hit by the recent market correction, have already shown signs of a recovery while areas closer to the city centre are showing significant momentum heading into 2020.”
Royal LePage attributed the tight market conditions to low housing supply in the face of strong population growth.
In the GTA condominium market, the brokerage is predicting a 6 percent increase to $600,000 for 2020. When all housing types are considered, the average price of a home in the GTA is expected to rise 4.75 percent to $883,700.
Somers also noted that families will face a tough road ahead as they grow out of their starter condos in the GTA and need more space. As prices continue to climb, moving to a larger property isn’t something that they all can afford without financial support from family or the government.
While prices are unlikely to come down any time soon, additional relief could be on the way if the Liberal government follows through on its election campaign promise to increase the qualifying household income level and maximum mortgage size of its First-Time Home Buyer Incentive.
