So you've done your research on the area and you're pretty such Victoria, British Columbia is right for you. However, your relatives or friends or maybe just some articles you read on the internet have extolled the value of a home for sale in Toronto to the point where you're wondering if you should check Ontario out as well before you decide for sure. This article can help you put your concerns to rest by outlining the market conditions in Ontario for the late 2009 to early 2010 period and comparing it to the conditions in Victoria and British Columbia as a whole.
Several years ago the bottom dropped out of the real estate market. In the United States, homeowners were practically giving their houses away, but the financial crisis never really impacted the Kingston, Ontario MLS or homes for sale in the rest of Ontario the same way. The situation was similar in British Columbia. Especially in the big cities where real estate is in such high demand, prices didn't hit rock bottom, rather, they took a brief turn into a buyer's market.
This buyer's market situation in Ontario is largely over. Toronto, being the most popular market, recovered first, with Mississauga homes for sale and properties in surrounding suburbs following shortly after. In fact, prices now quite exceed their post-crash values despite the fact that Canada's economy has yet to fully recover. The average home value in Ontario is now $352,000, up nearly $100,000 from its 2005 value. This had lead many real estate experts in Ontario to speculate that the Greater Toronto Area is experiencing a "bubble" which will surely pop in the coming months and make prices more reasonable once again.
When compared to housing prices in British Columbia, however, Ontario begins to seem almost cheap. Where the average price for a home in Ontario in 2010 is $352,000 in British Columbia it is a whopping $488,000! This added expense is reflected in the number of houses sold as well. Almost three times as many Windsor, Ontario homes are being sold as there are houses being sold in Victoria, perhaps because fewer people on the West coast can afford to upgrade.
Much like in British Columbia, as you move away from major urban areas like Toronto and Ottawa, prices get cheaper. Ajax homes for sale are much more affordable than similar properties in Toronto. To buy a single story home in a Victoria-sized city in Ontario, such as Ancaster, would cost approximately $374,000. Meanwhile in Victoria, that same property would cost you in excess of $478,000. Therefore if it's purely expense you're looking at, you would do better literally anywhere else in Canada, even Toronto, as the B.C. market is the nation's most expensive.
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