Home prices skyrocket with demand
Average resale cost in Whitchurch-Stouffville: $726,900

YorkRegion.com
April 24, 2015
Sandra Bolan

The cost of buying a home here rose 13.61 per cent to an average of $726,900 during the past year, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board’s recently released home buying stats.

The numbers were based only on resale homes sold via the multiple listing service (MLS), according to Jason Mercer, director of market analysis for the Toronto Real Estate Board.

“It’s amazing how many people can afford a $700,000 home,” said Lesley O’Connor, a real estate agent with Gallo Real Estate.

Interest rates are around 3 per cent for a three to five-year fixed mortgage, which makes the required 20-per-cent down payment $140,000 and the monthly mortgage payment $2,650. And because of the 32-per-cent gross debt ratio cap, it can be done on a $100,000 annual salary, according to O’Connor.

But buyers are cautious, she said, noting couples are qualifying for higher amounts than they’re actually willing to pay.

The average price of a single-family detached – not including towns and semis – home in Whitchurch-Stouffville is $735,200. That is up 12.57 per cent over last year, according to the report.

The average price of a detached home in York Region exceeded $900,000.

Typically, the cost of buying a home in Whitchurch-Stouffville goes up by 6 per cent year over year, according to O’Connor.

Since January, 32 homes have sold for more than  $1 million. One home sold for $2.3 million, according to O’Connor.

Most of the properties were outside urban Stouffville, she said.

A single family attached home – including towns and semis – in Whitchurch-Stouffville costs $479,000, which is up 13.99 per cent over last year.

Between January and March of this year, 180 homes in Whitchurch-Stouffville sold for an average of $732,154. Sellers got 98 per cent of their asking price and units were on the market for an average of 27 days, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board’s report.

In the month of March, 74 homes were sold for an average price of $767,243. Sellers received 99 per cent of their asking price and the homes were sold in 24 days, on average, according to the report.

Of those homes sold, 60 were detached with an average price of $830,291. Eleven units were attached/row/town homes with an average selling price of $485,500, which was 102 per cent of the asking price.

Those homes stayed on the market for an average of seven days.

They were most likely purchased by first-time homebuyers, according to O’Connor.

Only three semi-detached properties were sold last month in Whitchurch-Stouffville. The average sale was $539,333, which was 100 per cent of the asking price. They were on the market for an average of four days.

It’s not just Whitchurch-Stouffville experiencing elevated home prices, according to O’Connor, it’s everywhere.

“It’s buyers saying I’ll buy it, no here’s more money, I’ll take it,” she said.

“If we were over-pricing, we wouldn’t be selling,” she said.

In reality, Whitchurch-Stouffville’s home prices are second only to Toronto’s, according to O’Connor. The municipality’s proximity to Toronto, Hwy. 404 and GO Transit helps keep the prices high.

“They always think they’re going to get a way cheaper deal but they’re not. What they’re paying for is lifestyle,” she said.

The average sale price of a York Region home last month was $758,000. The GTA average was $613,900.

Homes in York Region stayed on the market for an average of 18 days.

There were no condo sales within Whitchurch-Stouffville last month, according to the report.