Every quarter of the year, I often discuss the condition of the real estate market in the area that I live in during my net worth performance review. The information that I shared is pretty much localized to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). However, my readers are pretty much spread out throughout North America and they may be interested to know what’s the real estate market condition in the metropolis that they live in too.
To satisfied my own curiosity and my readers’ interest, I decided to do some research to compare the GTA real estate prices with other North American Metropolises. Since the GTA is the biggest metropolis in Canada, I wanted to know how we would fare against other large metropolises like Mexico City, New York City and Miami. One of the questions that I wanted to address is, “Are the real estate prices in the GTA really that expensive?”
GTA Real Estate Prices
The Greater Toronto Area’s (GTA) real estate market has had a varied year in 2017. After reaching peak price in April, the number of homes sold nationwide fell by 6.2% in May, which is the largest month-to-month decline in nearly five years.
Yet, sales in the region rebounded and steadily increased in September. The average GTA home sold for $775,546 in September, up 5.9% from August’s average of $732,292, according to The Globe and Mail. The average price hike came after the increase in residential properties sold in September. Global News reported that 6,379 homes were sold in September, compared to 6,335 homes in August. However, the rise is still off by 35% from the 9,830 homes sold in the same month in 2016. The recovery has continued into November 2017 where 7,374 transactions have been recorded. Compared to last year in the same month, sales were down by 13.3%.
Even though buyers are becoming bolder with their purchases, sellers appear to be cautious. They are most likely waiting for prices to strengthen or until the spring, which is a typically favorable time for sellers. The uncertainty is also fueled by the Bank of Canada’s rate hike, which lifted by one-quarter of a percentage point to 1%.
Comparing To Mexico City
Taking into consideration GTA’s price fluctuations last year, how does its real estate fare against other North American regions? Let’s review the most populous city in North America, Mexico City. The city has contrasting real estate prices, as noted by the Mexico News Daily. A square meter of housing can range from $510 dollars to $73,000, depending on which neighborhood the building is in. The average price for an older one-bedroom condo in the upscale Polanco district is around $300,000 to $400,000, which is slightly lower than GTA’s current average price for a condo at $516,965.
Comparing To New York City
New York is the second most populous city in North America and has prices that are higher than both the GTA’s and Mexico City’s. The average sales price for a Manhattan co-op is $850,000, while the median price for a one-bedroom apartment is $835,000. While the city has seen a decline in market-wide prices for the first time in almost three years, the prices still don’t compare to the affordability of homes in other regions.
Comparing To Miami
New York has higher prices than even Miami, a city known for its beaches and upscale neighborhoods. Downtown Miami is one of the most affordable neighborhoods, with its median sales price of $189,375 for condos and $325,000 for single-family homes. Miami Beach meanwhile, has a median sales price of $495,000. It’s surprisingly affordable given that the area is home to an array of great bars, restaurants, and luxury condos. There is even the Art Deco district in South Beach, which is a popular tourist spot as according to Discover Homes Miami. South Beach’s real estate has also seen a dip in prices, with Discover Homes Miami stating that the “average sales price per square foot decreased to $1,229 from $1,247” this year. The least expensive condos are found in North Beach, with a median sales price of $240,000. The neighborhood itself is filled with residential properties, with no restaurants or bars nearby. Even so, that price is cheaper than an old condo in Mexico City’s Polanco and any type of home in GTA.
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Conclusion
To recap, GTA stands in the middle in terms of real estate prices. It may not be the most populated metropolis in North America, but it has higher prices than some of the other big cities. Of course, nothing can top the sky-high prices of New York City, but at least GTA residents would not have to worry about dealing with the same housing problems as New Yorkers. If you are looking to purchase a property at GTA, feel free to check out our 26 tips to buy your dream home with confidence.
So readers, are real estate prices sky-high or fluctuate wildly in the area that you live in? Do you think housing is affordable in the area that you live in?
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It is just crazy the differences in home costs! I live in Texas, so it’s not so bad. I know I couldn’t afford to ever live in NYC!
@Amber, there is only one reason why I would live in NY. That is if I have a job there. I am not a big fan with big cities and high density areas. I prefer to have a little bit of space.
Everywhere has vast differences when in comes to real estate that when you start comparing, you end up wondering where you really ought to be living. Also it’s funny how a name of an area or location ends up determining home prices and making them either be super expensive or affordable.
@Joan, you are definitely right about the naming of the area’s home price being associated with the name. I know a few places in the metropolis that I live in that’s associated with Bridal and they are supper expensive. There are Bridal Trail, Bridal Walk and Bridal Path, with the last one, you have to be at least a multi-millionaire to get into that area.
Wow! I didn’t realize the huge differences homes cost! Here in Louisiana, prices aren’t that high. I could never live in a high-market area!
@Jessica, usually, the home prices in the big cities are crazy. If it wasn’t for my job, I’d prefer to live in small town. The pace of live is much slower.
When I saw GTA, I immediately thought Greater Tampa Area where I’m a Realtor. The prices for Miami surprise me but as a median, it’s probably not too far off. The question isn’t whether those prices are cheaper than other places but what you get for that median price. In Miami, it’s not going to be very much.
@Cris, I definitely agree that the median price is somewhat skewed in the big cities. In Toronto, for a million bucks you’ll probably get just a fixer upper detached home if you are lucky.
It’s crazy to see the different cost in different places. When we lived in California, the homes are so expensive and I’m sure it’s still cost is still rocket high.
@Soonjoo, I’ve hear of the house price in San Francisco. I don’t think I can ever afford a home there. A million dollars wouldn’t get you much.
I live in Southern Ontario, which is west of Toronto. We have had substantial increases in home values and more competition in cities here, due to the extremely high costs in GTA. Families and notably retirees are moving here to get better value in homes.
@Darcie, it’s a ripple effect. It’s harder and harder to own a property in the city so people are now forced to move further and further away from the city.
GTA RE is still very unaffordable haha… I feel a bit relieved buying in 2015 but still sorta pricey. I was priced out and didn’t want to spend or go over budget just to move close to TTC subway. It would’ve been so convenient for work, but oh well… gotta sacrifice a bit hah!
We also have a rental property in Niagara region since GTA just didn’t make any sense for investing. At that point we would’ve been banking on price appreciation instead of looking for cash flow… which isn’t what we were looking for. It’s so sad. You can buy a couple to three or even four houses in Niagara (depending on what) for one in Toronto… sigh… location x3! >.<
I’ve seen some videos comparing the cost of houses in every state and the differences are crazy. It’s not easy to get a house here, expensive and difficult to get loans.
Those prices are rough. Housing is such an interesting beast. Thanks for your input on a market I am only familiar with from blogs like yours.
It is amazing how much real estate prices can fluctuate from place to place. It is a shame that housing is so unaffordable for many these days.
Wow, that’s so crazy! I knew NYC was expensive but didn’t think about Miami being that pricey.
It is amazing how much real estate prices can change from place to place. The prices are extremely different even in the surrounding cities in my location.
Timely post Leo! I just saw this on my twitter feed today:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/01/13/749-000-toronto-real-estate-listing-looks-like-it-came-out-of-a-horror-movie_a_23332725/
Crazy!! I can’t believe that is $750K.
Well, in Vancouver, you can’t even buy a DUPLEX for that price. Which is half a house.
New York City is pretty insane when it comes to property values. And California, especially the metropolitan areas are pretty insane as well when it comes to property values. Almost impossible to purchase from there.
So I guess it is time to move to Mexico! NYC and Miami are so overpriced!