Three northern Ont. cities among top 10 best places to buy a home in Canada
Northern Ontario made headlines during the height of the pandemic for attracting people from expensive and crowded southern cities with the region's lower housing prices and cost of living.
Now, a new national ranking from online finance magazine MoneySense placed Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay among the top three places to buy a home in Canada.
The website weighed the prices and overall growth of 45 regional markets across the country
"In a lot of real estate markets, the prices were going down or they didn't grow, necessarily, as much as the year before,” said senior editor Justin Dallaire.
“But places like Sault Ste Marie and North Bay, in particular, sort of resisted those trends to a certain degree."
Dallaire said those two cities ended the year with higher prices, which had close to doubled in the last five years to the $300,000 to $400,000 range.
Sudbury placed ninth on the list.
Part of desirability for homes can be credited to people from larger cities looking for a change, Dallaire said.
"One of the big reasons was also just real estate investors kind of looking at places that are a little bit more affordable, that have seen high price growth,” he said.
“And it’s also a good place, say, if you've been priced out of a city like Toronto."
The reflection on 2022 comes amid mixed feelings about the current housing market in Ontario.
A recent poll from RBC showed people are encouraged yet uncertain about cooling housing prices, with higher interest rates and inflation to contend with.
But Nick Palucci, the senior director of acquisition in RBC’s home equity finance department, highlighted polling numbers showing people looking to buy their first home are most optimistic.
"In that pre-first-time homebuyer (respondent pool), almost 80 per cent of them feel like it’s a good time for them to get in and maybe one of the best times that they've had in many, many years,” said Palucci.
Northern Ontario made headlines during the height of the pandemic for attracting people from expensive and crowded southern cities with the region's lower housing prices and cost of living. (Photo from video)
And northern Ontario’s good region to buy into, said Timmins realtor Gord Cowie.
Timmins wasn't looked at in MoneySense’s ranking, but officials said there's been some growth and demand in the last few years.
However, inventory is at a surprising low for this time of year, he said. His brokerage currently has a third of the listings it normally would.
"People are reluctant to put their house on the market because there's not much for them to consider purchasing, whether they're upsizing or downsizing,” said Cowie.
“The same thing goes for buyers. If a nice property comes on the market, it's gone quite quickly."
As of now, average home prices are up slightly in Timmins but have dropped in the other three major northern cities since last year.
Year-to-date sales are down by up to 45 per cent across the board and new listings are at 35-year lows.
Unclear whether 2023 will continue last year’s momentum — Cowie expects sales to pick up over the summer — experts maintain that investing in northern Ontario offers greater potential for appreciation in value, as well as better cost of living, as opposed to attempting to buy into a Toronto home.
"It isn't, necessarily, where your money will go the furthest,” Dallaire said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.