Housing hikes hurting northern buyers, experts cite province-wide supply issues
Home prices in northeastern Ontario have been rising to record levels, with Timmins realtors reporting a 16 per cent jump in the average house price so far in 2022, over last year.
The average house now costs around $247,000, according to the Timmins Cochrane and Timiskaming Association of Realtors, compared to $217,000 in 2021.
The key culprit, said association president Angela Hunter, is lack of sellers and new builds.
"The other day, there were only 38 houses on the market in Timmins," Hunter said in an interview, citing a 30 per cent supply deficit.
"There are more realtors in Timmins than there were houses available for sale. So, if you're looking to buy, you have to be aggressive."
Hunter said aggressive buyers are also contributing to those higher real estate prices.
People from southern Ontario are taking extra cash from their home sales and making cash offers on "bargain" houses in the north, she said, while local buyers are making higher bids to ensure they get the homes they want.
PRICING BUYERS OUT OF THE MARKET
That makes it difficult for people like Lisa Auger-Labelle, who's raising a toddler and currently lives in a low-income neighbourhood. She said she's spent about a year searching for a home but hasn't encountered one in her price range and has struggled to get responses from sellers.
Meanwhile, Auger-Labelle said she's been moving apartments trying to find a neighbourhood where she feels safe—and said owning her own how would make her feel safer.
"No one's got a home around here, so everyone's breaking into apartments just to live. So I'm looking for a home, instead of constantly moving but it seems to be very difficult," she said.
The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) claims the situation where homebuyers are being pushed out of their local markets is happening around the province.
The association's CEO, Tim Hudak, said the notion of "drive until you qualify (for a home)" is falling out of favour, citing 10 districts outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) that are seeing housing prices approach or exceed the $1 million mark.
He said it's becoming increasingly difficult for people to buy properties in their hometowns, including northeastern Ontario.
"It's time to start building again, particularly for first-time homebuyers," said Hudak in an interview, pointing at housing supply as the most pressing issue.
"The key for affordability, unlocking those keys for a new homeowner: more choice, more affordability, more supply in big cities, northern and small towns."
The OREA is calling on political leaders to make this an election issue and, in particular, incorporate solutions like higher land-transfer tax rebates for first-time homebuyers, loosen zoning rules for more multi-unit housing and townhomes, as well as to crack down on real estate-based money laundering.
'ONLY THING I CAN AFFORD IS TO LEAVE TOWN'
While Hunter said the north does see some homes priced at $1 million and over, it's unlikely to become the norm in the coming years.
Though the best way to stave off any further housing hikes, she said, is to build more supply. And she said the region has plenty of land for it.
"It has to do with ... what the population can support in this area, as far as employment," Hunter said, hinting at the region's labour shortage.
For people concerned that they're being priced out of their local market, Hunter advised that the best course of action is to either settle for real estate that may not have been the ideal choice—or to save up for a preferred home that may have gone up in price over the years.
For Auger-Labelle, she feels it will likely take around five years to get the type of home she needs but said that doesn't bode well for the near future.
"Only thing I can afford is to leave town, pretty much," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.