I’m curious how much of this is capital shifting from Vancouver to Toronto in response to provincial and municipal measures to reduce the attractiveness of parking wealth in BC real estate?They say it's going to get worse,
Not even high interest rates can curb Toronto housing prices and it's about to get worse
Inflated interest rates may have made real estate in already-overpriced Toronto completely unaffordable to all but the ultra-wealthy in recent months…www.blogto.com
Cost of housing in Canada
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Brad Sallows
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Surely people don't move money around in response to attempts by governments to impose costs or limit revenues.
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That is crazy talk…
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Even after all these years of disappointment, we still let them break our hearts. < smile emoji
Eaglelord17
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Its cooling down Vancouver a bit… the solution would then be to apply similar legislation to Ontario.
At some point the government has to get involved, otherwise the damage is worse than not. The government is also the one taking the heat for it as well. Not to mention if a ton of people end up homeless due to this crisis it isn’t a good thing and ends up being a drain on everyone.
I would argue the reason this whole situation got so bad was a refusal for the government to take actions to prevent it, if anything they encouraged it. Should have been raising interest rates years ago to discourage a overleveraged debt economy.
Brad Sallows
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Often enough when government gets involved, things get worse. What's the basis for assuming this won't be the case?
There is at least one big change the federal government could make which doesn't require fiddling with zoning or building codes or trying to figure out who to penalize or who to subsidize - slash immigration deeply. Aside from Ponzi-like government programs - and there is really only one big one, CPP, which is already reasonably solvent and resistant to a "crisis" of a stable or even slightly declining population - there isn't really anything that depends on an endlessly expanding population.
lenaitch
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I generally agree but zoning rules are needed to create and maintain a livable and cohesive community and naturally evolve. Otherwise, you next door neighbour opens a mushroom farm with immunity. I'm certainly not saying that all levels of government do zoning evolution particularly well. In the 50s and 60s in place like Toronto and probably most large cities, the single family home was king. There was lots of land, density wasn't an issue and family sizes favoured it. Now, there is a need to increase density to prevent spawl, rein in public infrastructure costs, etc. One challenge is managing the transition, and NIMBYism plays a large, but not the only role. It's one think to allow secondary and even tertiary residences on the same plot, but they come at public cost.
Also, while building code changes probably do increase construction costs, I'm not sure by how much, and it's probably pretty difficult to track the impact of changes over time. Changes that impact on energy efficiency can have obvious financial benefits to the owner over the long term.
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The most affordable cities in Ontario to buy a home.
www.blogto.com
Here are the most affordable cities in Ontario to buy a home right now
Preparing to purchase your first home in Ontario can be an incredibly daunting experience, given all the uncertainties that come with the region's re…
www.blogto.com
GK .Dundas
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And it's only a six hour commute !The most affordable cities in Ontario to buy a home.
Here are the most affordable cities in Ontario to buy a home right now
Preparing to purchase your first home in Ontario can be an incredibly daunting experience, given all the uncertainties that come with the region's re…
lenaitch
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Depends. It may surprise some city folks, particularly Toronto, that the world is not divided into two groups: the people who live in cities, and those who want to. It is rumoured that people lead complete and fulfilling lives without having a need to go to one.
I get a kick out of BlogTO calling everything a "city".
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With VIA Rail, 7 GO train lines, Union - Pearson Express, and the Ontario Northlander train making a comeback, i think people are pretty well served by rail and air. From what I have read, there are passenger service improvements coming.
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The Bancroft area is nice. 2 hrs 40 to the CN Tower.
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I think the intent of the article was simply to show "The 10 Most - Affordable - Ontario Cities to Buy Real Estate in October 2023".
The 10 Most Affordable Ontario Cities to Buy Real Estate in October 2023 | Zoocasa Blog
Home prices in Canada are much lower now than when they peaked in 2022, but affordability is still a key concern for those living in the most expensive provinces. If you're looking for an affordable entry point into the Ontario market, check out our list of the province's top 10 most affordable...
www.zoocasa.com
GK .Dundas
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I never said anything about Toronto being a six hour commute however it was the first place you thought of. ...me too come to think of it .
It was a running gag in the maternal side of my family being based in Toronto. As people moved farther from the city driven by higher prices each time they moved .
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In fact, the area north of the Kawarthas, bounded by Gravenhurst, Huntsville, Bancroft and Madoc, could support a fair number of larger communities. It is on the Shield and not much use for agriculture. It used to be logging and mining country. I don't know about now. But it has a lot of lakes and rivers for waterfront communities.
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Affordability is relative to supply.
Kingston and the surrounding counties have some of the lowest vacancy rates in North America. While the average is far below the GTA, bidding wars occur for some of the shabbiest of homes that really and truly aren't worth the foundations they're sitting on.
Also, the fact that the GTA refugees artificially inflate the market doesn't help maintain affordability for locals or anyone coming from not the GTA.
Plenty of CAF members are still living in HWY 2 motels because of this.
Kingston and the surrounding counties have some of the lowest vacancy rates in North America. While the average is far below the GTA, bidding wars occur for some of the shabbiest of homes that really and truly aren't worth the foundations they're sitting on.
Also, the fact that the GTA refugees artificially inflate the market doesn't help maintain affordability for locals or anyone coming from not the GTA.
Plenty of CAF members are still living in HWY 2 motels because of this.
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It's a beautiful, and affordable - according to the article - area. Was in Peterborough the other day.
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When I was posted to Trenton in 2017 the Trenton/Bellville/Brighton area was already suffering from price jumps driven by GTA housing refugees... The spouse of one of the people I worked with worked in the GTA, and commuted from the Colborne area.
Long commutes make sense when it's the difference between owning a home, and renting a studio apartment.
lenaitch
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One problem, common to many non-urban areas, is employment. Unless you want to turn them into bedroom, long commute communities, there's not much to do, year-round, in places like Bancroft or MacTier. There is effectively no more logging or ag any more (there never was a non-pioneer agricultural base except in southern Kawartha Lakes). Even larger communities struggle to maintain a non-retail commercial tax base.
An additional problem if there ever was an attempt to create large urban areas would be water and sanitation. Without drawing on surface water (other than Georgian Bay, there are no really big bodies of water) I don't know how much water could be sucked out of the Pre-Cambrian Shield, or re-absorbed back into it.
It's a long commute, particularly in the winter. Communities on existing rail lines that could be enhanced for commuter passenger rail may have a bit of a future edge, but there is no rationale economic argument to carve a passenger-only rail line to Haliburton.
The prime example of that is Prince Edward County. Long before the more recent work-from-home, Covid-induced price inflation, The County used to be cute rural area with a few small towns. Then it was 'found' by city folks. Wineries, bistros, art galleries, etc. were built to attract more city folks. The economy is probably stronger (I don't know if it is year-round - I get the sense that is quite seasonal), but prices of everything has increased to match. As other areas found during Covid, the expat/commuting/escaping home buyer makes it tough for the existing mechanic, store clerk or farmer.
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