🤑 Top 10 Most Affordable Cities to Buy a Home in Ontario

• The top 10 affordable cities to buy a home in Ontario are all located outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

• The five most affordable cities in August 2023 were Sault Ste Marie, North Bay, Sudbury, and Bancroft and Simcoe, all with benchmark prices under $500,000.

• Other affordable cities include Rideau-St Lawrence, Quinte and District, Huron-Perth, and Grey-Bruce-Owen Sound, with benchmark prices between $560,000 and $580,000.

• The average monthly mortgage payments in the most affordable cities range from $1,407 to $2,760.

Here’s where the GTA ranks:

Brampton - Ranked 152 with an average home price of $1,038,271

Mississauga – Ranked 156 with an average home price of $1,036,304

Scarborough - Ranked 150 with an average home price of $650,000

Markham – Ranked 173 with an average home price of $1,234,021

Newmarket – Ranked 164 with an average home price of $1,147,513

Etobicoke – Ranked 177 with an average home price of $1,701,000

Hamilton – Ranked 77 with an average home price of $830,477

🏘 Average Price of GTA Homes Increase, While Sales Drop

• The average price of residential homes in Toronto rose by 3% from September, while sales dropped by 7.1%

• The condo market is currently flooded with listings as many investors sell their rental units

• Properties in the luxury tier will face increased municipal land transfer tax rates starting January 1st, 2023.

• The land transfer tax rate would start at 3.5% for homes valued between $3 million and $4 million and increase to 7.5% for homes valued over $20 million.

• The market has seen some properties sell above the asking price due to unique characteristics and location. Setting an offer date has proven to be effective for some properties.

🤔 64,000 New Jobs Pose Inflation Concerns

• Canadian employers added 64,000 in September, with the unemployment rate at 5.5%.

• Wage growth is driven by job vacancies and worker shortages, which allowed workers to negotiate higher salaries in response to rising inflation.

• Strong wage growth can help households deal with rising prices, but central banks are concerned due to increased spending power causing inflation 

💡 Federal government invests 225M in Hamilton, Vaughan, and London

• This is part of the Housing Accelerator Fund which allocates $4 billion for affordable housing

• The fund focuses on constructing high-density housing near public transit stations

• The goal of the fund is to build 100,000 more units across Canada