House prices up 60 per cent in East Gwillimbury, Georgina

YorkRegion.com
April 11, 2017
Simon Martin

Everyone knows the housing market is crazy right now. Just how crazy? The average home price in East Gwillimbury and Georgina has gone up 60 per cent in the last calendar year.

“There is a housing shortage,” Keller Williams real estate agent Jennifer Jones said. What’s happening in Northern York Region is a lot of landed Canadian immigrants are purchasing investment properties or cottage properties, Jones said. At the same time a lot of people are downsizing, moving north and retiring. This insatiable demand has helped drive prices to unseen heights in the area.

John Pasalis, president of Realosophy, said the 60 per cent figure doesn’t mean every single home went up that much. Larger lots in the area have been selling like hot cakes which helps bring up the figure to 60 per cent. “It’s still insane. They are definitely booming,” he said.

The reason the demand is so high for houses in Georgina and East Gwillimbury is so many people have been priced out of the market closer to Toronto. Pasalis said if your budget for a home was around $600,000 to $700,000 people use to go looking in the Newmarket, Aurora and Markham area. That number won’t get it done any longer so they have moved their eyes further north. “If your budget is $600,000 or $700,000 you’re looking in East Gwillimbury, Georgina or Uxbridge,” he said. 

Rural homes with big lots have also become very popular, Pasalis said. Usually they take quite a bit of time to sell but this year they are flying off the market.

Hot market means time to sell, right? Jones said it’s not that simple. “When someone calls me and says they want to sell their house, I always ask ‘do you have a plan?’” she said. It’s important to investigate the market and know where you are moving to.

“There is a lot of competition for those people downsizing,” she said. “It’s always a good time to sell as long as you have a plan.”    

If you have noticed more "for sale" signs popping up on lawns in recent weeks you’re not wrong. Jones said a lot more homes have come on the market in the past three weeks which could help temper cool the market a little. “It’s supply and demand. The last two or three week the prices aren’t going quite as high,” she said.

Jones said it looks like more homes will be on the market in 2017 than were in 2016 as people try and cash in on their new equity. 

Another factor that can’t be discounted in the bull market, is foreign money Pasalis said. “One hundred per cent, foreign money is impacting our housing market, “ he said.

Realosophy recently published a study that showed 20 per cent of new homes are simply rented out after purchase.

“There is investment demand,” Pasalis said.

People think they can get a better return on home than playing the stock market.

“New listings were up 17 per cent last month. There is a crazy demand for houses,” he said.