Here’s where home prices have doubled in the City of Toronto in the last 5 years

The Toronto housing market has long had a reputation for being the hottest in the nation – even in the aftermath of provincial and federal policies introduced to cool prices, the city continues to see home values appreciate at a blistering pace, thanks to its solid economic picture. Its status as Canada’s business hub and fastest-growing city in North America – the GTA population is forecast to swell by 2.8 million by 2041 – will help support brisk demand for local housing.

Prices appreciated by over 100% in some neighbourhoods

Data from the Toronto Real Estate Board shows that the average home price rose by 46% to $806,755 between July 2014 and 2019, reflecting a dollar increase of $256,055. However, appreciation has run even hotter at the local level, according to new analysis from Zoocasa, revealing some of the city’s neighbourhoods have more than doubled in price over that time period.

The study compared average July home prices from 2014 to 2019 in both the condo and house (detached and semi-detached combined) segments, in 35 MLS districts across the City of Toronto.  

Condos saw the greatest price growth

Not surprisingly, a greater number of neighbourhoods with condo stock saw average prices increase exponentially; values more than doubled in eight of the 35 districts, while 30 experienced at least a 50% increase, and none saw an increase smaller than 25%.

The largest increases were noted in neighbourhoods where prices were, and remain, lower than the city average, and generally away from the city core, including West Hill, Centennial Scarborough (147%), Scarborough Village, Guildwood (140%), Malvern, Rouge (128%), and Willowridge – Martingrove – Richview (127%). In 2014, the average prices in these neighbourhoods were well-below the $250,000 mark. Today, they remain below the city average, generally priced lower than $500,000.

However, lower-prices haven’t necessarily translated to buyer demand; rather, the hottest sales activity for condos for sale in Toronto remain in centrally located districts such as City Place, Cabbagetown, and Mimico. Here, the average unit price hovers between $520,000 and $750,000, and have experienced price appreciation between 50% to 70% over the five-year time period. This is most likely due to location and amenities ranking as high priority for condo buyers, as well as a greater proportion of would-be house purchasers remaining in the condo market due to low affordability in the single-family home segment.

Check out how condo prices have increased across the City of Toronto over the past five years:

House price growth robust, but more moderate

While average house prices have also seen strong increases over the last five years, they’ve done so at a slower pace than multi-family housing. Just two neighbourhoods – Forest Hill – Oakwood and Regent Park – St. James Town – Corktown – saw average prices double, while the majority (15) saw appreciation between 25% and 49%, while 13 rose 50% to 74%.

This is due to a combination of factors; unlike the condo sector, which has seen prices and sales growth remain stable following the Ontario Fair Housing Plan and OSFI stress test, the house segment saw activity dip in the months following both of these new policies as sellers pulled listings and prospective buyers found themselves priced out of the segment.

Check out how house prices have increased across the City of Toronto over the past five years:



Penelope Graham is the Managing Editor at Zoocasa, a full-service brokerage that offers advanced online search tools to empower Canadians with the data and expertise they need to make more successful real estate decisions. View real estate listings for condos and houses for sale in North York, downtown Toronto, and Etobicoke at zoocasa.com or download our free iOS app.