We have all seen it coming or perhaps heard the stories of even the wealthy entertainers fed up with the high prices and bidding wars when trying to buy in Toronto. Older less-desirable neighbourhoods have seen their property values triple. Small communities to the north, east and west are all experiencing the consequences of Toronto’s skyrocketing property costs.
Will Toronto’s bubble be bursting soon?
With the municipal and provincial government discussing affordability measures, some are delaying their purchase while others who have purchased are not seeing the higher bids that were present in the previous months.
The Ottawa Citizen had an article of a family that sold their modest home, purchased for $300,000.00 7 years ago, for over a million dollars. Rather than staying in Toronto, they have decided to relocate to Ottawa where they can live mortgage free in a home with double the square footage.
“My husband and I saw an opportunity to take advantage of the recent gains in real estate and to move to a less expensive city to live mortgage-free, support our savings for retirement and also to be closer to family,” says Sarah Blakely.
The article goes on to quote Blakely’s real estate agent Josie Stern as saying “ the market appears to be cooling, and doubts Blakely could fetch that same jackpot sale today. And they might have taken action at just the right time.”
“Buyers have been in such a stressful situation for so long that now they think somebody is going to save them and they’re waiting,” Josie Stern goes on to say. “They’ve dug their heels in, they’re tired of competition, and then there’s those that are still proceeding, but there’s been quite a big pullback from buyers.”
Greater Toronto Area homes are selling 33% higher than just a year ago, there is just too high of a demand and the bidding wars only add fuel to the fire. These prices are pushing the sellers out of the GTA into markets where they can get more for their dollar. As we see in the case of Sarah, living mortgage free in Ottawa.
Articles referenced:
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/ toronto-homeowners-cash-out- head-for-ottawa-as- uncertainty-sets-in
