East Gwillimbury expects occupancy in 500 new homes by end of year

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 25, 2016
By Simon Martin

If you have been noticing a lot of construction activity in Queensville, Sharon and Holland Landing this summer, you’re not wrong. The town is experiencing the start of a home construction boom.

During a mid-year presentation at East Gwillimbury council Aug. 23, town spokesperson Laura Hanna said the town has received more than 1,700 building permits this year, with almost 1,000 new home permits issued already.

The dry summer has helped construction move along quickly and Hanna said the town expects to have occupancy in 500 new homes by the end of the year.

The news is quite a turnaround from last year when council was surprised to learn the pace of new home development in the town had slowed.

New home building permits dropped from 167 in 2014 to an estimated 87 in 2015. Those numbers appear to be an aberration.

At the time, CAO Tom Webster said the town expects somewhere in the vicinity of 1,000 building permits in 2016 as new development starts to come online.

Webster’s estimate seems to be accurate more than halfway through 2016. While a higher volume of permits in 2015 was originally expected, development services general manager Carolyn Kellington said the slowdown was due to the timing of the York Durham Sewage System extension completion being pushed back.

According to the town, 1,162 have been sold in Sharon, 643 in Queensville, 335 in Holland Landing and 207 in Mount Albert.  Add it all up and that’s 2,347 new homes that have been sold.

Ideally, town staff would like to have a stable building rate of about 800 homes every year, but that’s not how the market works.

The new homes are feeding the insatiable demand for housing stock in York Region, which has seen home prices continue to rise. The average price of a resale home in York Region increased by 13.5 per cent in 2015 to $777,927, said Paul Bottomley, York Region’s manager of policy, research and planning in the economic development department.

The skyrocketing prices can be attributed to a number of issues, including a lack of houses for sale compared to demand, resulting in more competition and aggressive offers, Bottomley said.

Jason Mercer, director of market analysis with the Toronto Real Estate Board, backed up that sentiment, saying the biggest story in recent years is the lack of listings.

SIDEBAR

The numbers are likely to get even bigger in future years.

In Holland Landing west, there is approval for 1,294 homes, with 987 serviced through the YDSS.

In Holland Landing east, there are 1,626 approved units, with 906 serviced through the YDSS.

In Queensville, there are 1,826 approved units, with a YDSS allotment of 3,151.

In Sharon, there are 1,974 approved homes, with 1,546 serviced through the YDSS.

Finally, in Mount Albert, there is approval for 454 homes serviced by the Mount Albert Sewage Treatment Plant.

In total, that is 7,174 homes in East Gwillimbury that already have draft plan approval.