Whether you’re looking to buy a family home or invest in commercial real estate, understanding the opportunities and broader trends in any real estate market is essential. Understanding the current trends can help you create a budget and decide on a location. Beyond the residential single-family dwelling, there are also some innovative solutions to consider.
Keeping up with the changing face of Ontario’s real estate can help you make a good decision by telling you where to invest and which professionals can help you make the right choice.
Innovative Housing Solutions: Beyond Traditional Homes
Ontario has a range of innovative housing strategies and solutions that include some of the following specific examples.
Scarborough Has Modular Homes
This five-star building includes fully furnished units with a bathroom and kitchen. It’s part of the government-sponsored housing TO Action Plan, which was implemented in 2020 to supply affordable housing. This plan has a target of creating 40,000 new permanent affordable rental units in the city of Toronto by 2030.
Healthy Housing Apartments
This innovative project results from changes to the Toronto zoning bylaw that allows for emerging laneway changes. Healthy House Apartments seeks to replace one detached dwelling with several semi-detached laneway suites in four plexes.
This is one of the approaches to density questions that address availability issues.
Information Resources
There are various good information resources on the web, including HousingNowTO.com. This is an open-source, volunteer-run web platform designed to bridge information that can get lost between development professionals like planners and average residents.
This website provides details on different affordable development housing sites in the area. Having the right information can help you if you’re looking to invest in affordable and innovative housing. One key factor is knowing where your money is best spent.
Investment Hotspots: Where to Focus in Ontario
There are several diverse opportunities in Ontario for real estate investors. Some are places that you would expect to be on a list, and others might surprise you.
- According to Canadian Real Estate magazine, Durham Region is near the top of the list as an investment hotspot. The area is growing, and it’s a municipality that includes places like Pickering, Oshawa, Clarington, Ajax, and Brock.
- The Niagara Region is also a good choice, and it includes cities like St Catharines. It’s always good to go into an area where there’s a growing demand, and this one fits the bill.
- Hamilton is another good investment choice. In 2023, the area set a new record for commercial and residential building permits.
To narrow down the best places to invest, you must check a few boxes. Look for new infrastructure and transportation projects. Having the right real estate professionals on your side is just as important as picking the correct location.
Role of Real Estate Agents in Navigating Ontario’s Market
Real estate professionals will help you make the process go smoothly, get the most for your money, and avoid legal issues.
These are the professionals who can help you with important aspects like market knowledge. A good real estate agent knows about future development plans, historical pricing trends, and other factors that can drive a real estate market. These experts cover all the bases and look after the details, like surveying target markets and relaying data into broader areas.
An excellent real estate professional has negotiating skills, so they can help you get the best price. This can include everything from using the right tone and relaxed voice to having the right amount of patience. Beyond those kinds of soft skills, a good agent should also have regulatory and legal knowledge, which needs to include any changes in local real estate laws.
Finally, real estate experts need to be able to handle a large amount of information. Finding one who can properly handle all necessary data and documents is essential to avoid issues.
Ontario’s Housing Market: An Overview of Current Trends
Ontario’s current housing market snapshot, including real estate trends, has a few different noteworthy areas.
- It’s important to know that Ontario’s benchmark home price has risen by 196% over the last 15 years. Urban housing markets were seeing year-over-year increases as of March 2024. For example, Oshawa rose 6.9%, and Ottawa jumped 3.1%. Lower increases were seen in the city of Toronto at 1% and Brampton at 0.5%.
- Prices across the province are stabilizing, but there are regional variations. This is despite the fact that the number of new listings was 41.8% higher in April 2024 than in April 2023.
- The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has released a report that economists expect buyers to come back to the market after waiting on the sidelines while they waited out interest rate hikes.
Risks to any optimistic forecast include Canada’s housing supply, which is facing supply issues. Ontario’s real estate market is showing some positive signs. However, affordability and a lack of supply are forcing buyers to look at alternative housing solutions.
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