Average Property Prices – How Do We Compare?

A table in a recent CMHC Housing Market Report took a look at the price of properties sold on Multiple Listing Services ® in Ontario from 1990 to 2005.  In 1990, the average sale price of a home on the report was $173, 775, five years later it was $183,841 and by 2005 it was $263,042; up 69.5% over the ten year period.  There was a prolonged recession in the mix through the early and mid 1990s so, the greatest gains were in the last five years.

I thought it would be interesting to see how we compare here in the area covered by the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board (GTREB).  According to GTREB MSL® stats, the average sale price of a residential property was $117,618 in 1995 compared to $228,176 a decade later.  That is a remarkable increase of 94% in just ten years.  We all know too that our average sale prices may be skewed by the rise in upper tier, luxury properties so, I decided to try some different parameters.  Looking at serviced properties under half an acre and capping the prices at $500,000, the picture changes somewhat but overall, the average sale prices in this case still went up in excess of 80%.

Clearly, prices in the South Georgian Bay area are outpacing the provincial averages as this area becomes increasingly desirable for a broader and more affluent segment of the population.  By the way, in the two years since June 2005, our average residential sale price has already climbed a further 17.3% in this area.  Not bad if you are an owner but somewhat daunting if you are hoping to become one.