The Toronto area’s detached home prices have risen by almost 35% in just four years due to the tearing down and renovation of freehold properties during the pandemic. Re/Max Canada’s report highlights that billions spent in infill and renovations over the pandemic years have raised the overall value of residential housing stock and continue to support higher pricing on single-family homes despite downward market pressure in the country’s most expensive markets, Toronto and Vancouver.

The average price of a detached home has climbed by almost 35% in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) between December 2019 and December 2023, rising from $1.05 million to $1.4 million. Between 2019 and 2023, the national increase in renovation spending approached an estimated $300 billion, an 8% increase over the previous five-year period. 

Revitalization remains one of the most underestimated factors behind escalating housing values, as a staggering amount of money is funnelled into renovation. Infill redefines neighbourhoods, especially in areas where the value of existing homes hasn’t kept pace with increasing land values.

Changing lifestyle trends have led buyers to turn more single-family homes into multiplexes due to multi-generational households or homeowners looking to rent out part of their home to help pay for mortgages or have supplemental income. The value of residential building permits issued for single-family dwellings in the Toronto and Vancouver census metropolitan areas (CMAs) between January 2019 and December 2023 sat at just over $27 billion, down almost 24% from the previous five-year period. However, the value of multi-family building permits was up 60% between January 2019 and December 2023, indicating more investment in multi-family development.

Statistics Canada data shows that renovating or infilling properties is a trend that is likely to continue due to the scarcity of land in Toronto’s downtown areas. Nearly 30% of the GTA’s existing housing stock was built before 1960, leading homeowners and builders to maximize square footage or increase density in traditional urban neighbourhoods. 

The trend is expected to continue as scarce land in the downtown area attracts those seeking to densify neighbourhoods. The increased value of properties stimulates commercial real estate and interests, with more shops and amenities coming into a neighbourhood.

Source: The Star
Source: Globe and Mail
Source: Financial Post