New owners of several Ont. Cities are feeling the “splash” of falling house prices, the report said

According to a recent report, new homeowners are likely to “feel” the decline in home prices in a number of Ontario cities, including Burlington, which had the worst performance of any Canadian city over the past 12 months.

A Point2Homes report that looked at apartment and single-family home prices in Canada's largest cities in 2022 and 2023 found that owners of single-family homes in Burlington who bought at the end of 2022 lost about $163 a day over the course of the year. totaling nearly $60,000.

The city's median single-family home price dropped from $1,260,400 in 2022 to $1,200,817 in 2023.

While Burlington is the “worst-case scenario,” several other Ontario cities have also “fallen behind” in single-family home values.

Homeowners in Markham lost about $154 each day, or $56,043 over the year. In Mississauga, the numbers were $114 per day and $41,740 over the course of a year. According to the report, single-family home buyers in Kitchener lost about $109 a day at the end of 2022, which equates to $39,850 over the course of the year.

“Year-over-year home price changes in the country's 67 largest cities showed that homeowners in 18 cities and apartment owners in 26 cities lost home value over the past year,” the report said. study.

“Real estate used to be the safest investment, but in 2023, that unwritten rule has been broken.”

Condo owners saw an even worse scenario in 2023, according to the report.

“Affordable housing options have gradually become cheaper, putting homeowners' equity hopes on hold,” the report said.

The most significant loss in Ontario was seen in London, Ont. and condos in Mississauga fell six percent and 5.8 percent, respectively. This means new condo owners in Mississauga see their property depreciate by about $36,000 each year. In London, apartment prices fell by about $22,600 over the course of the year.

While apartment prices in Toronto fell by 3.2 per cent, the report noted that the average price of a single-family home in Canada's largest city rose by 0.4 per cent over the year.

“The past year has shown that real estate investments sometimes backfire. This means Canada's newest owners in these unfortunate cities may have to wait longer than others to build wealth,” the report said.

While there are early signs that prices for single-family home owners are improving, what will happen for homeowners in 2024 remains to be seen, the report said.

“Given that real estate is a long-term investment, homeowners may consider taking longer to build equity,” it concludes.

Here's a list of Ontario cities with the biggest declines in single-family home prices (in %):

Kitchen: -4.9% (-$39,850)

Burlington: -4.7% (-$59,583)

Markham: -3.2% (-$56,043)

Mississauga: -3.1% (-$41,740)

Oshawa: -2.8% (-$23,451)

Brampton: -2.6% (-$28,797)

Milton: -2.4% (-$30,544)

Whitby: -2.2% (-$24,297)

Oakville: -1.7% (-$28,815)

Richmond Hill: -1.3% (-$23,576)

Here is a list of Ontario cities where condo prices have fallen the most (by %):

London, ON: -6% (-$22,600)

Mississauga -5.8% (-$36,600)

Barry: -5.3% (-$28,000)

St. Catharines: -4.1% (-$18,400)

Niagara Falls: -4.1% (-$18,400)

Hamilton: -3.3% (-$16,300)

Toronto: -3.2% (-$23,200)

Brampton: -3% (-$17,300)

Clarington: -3% (-$16,500)

Brantford: -1.4% (-$5,400)