Across all of the major markets in Canada (Toronto and Mississauga, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver), real estate in Toronto has proved to be one of the most resilient markets to be a part of. Through various economic cycles and recessions, any period of downturn has largely been temporary and followed by a sharp rebound. Case in point: 2008. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, freehold properties were selling for around $430,000 on average and condos were being sold for $295,000. Within 10 years, these same markets had touched peaks of $940,000 for stand alone houses in Toronto and $565,000 for Toronto condos. In other words, on a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) basis, freehold properties grew 8.1% annually over 10 years while the corresponding figure for condos was 6.7%. While these are staggering numbers by any metric, it is worthwhile to explore what they can mean to different types of buyers.
For the first-time homebuyer, it goes to show that for the most part there is no better time than the present to get into the real estate market especially in major cities like Toronto, Mississauga, Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa, but the same goes for suburbs surround those cities. Suburbs near the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) such as Maple, Aurora, Woodbridge, Thornhill, Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill and other parts of York Region are considered by many to be strong markets to purchase homes and commercial properties in. So are Etobicoke, Mississauga, Brampton, Burlington, Hamilton, Barrie, Scarborough, Pickering Ajax, Durham Region, and more. While careful due diligence is advised on the timing of the entry point, the location, and pricing, the property markets generally are considered to represent a stable way to build equity over time and achieve solid returns.
