Toronto may be the most expensive city in Canada to buy a home

Bad news, Toronto. The 6ix could overtake Vancouver this year to become Canada's most expensive housing market, according to a new housing report.

Real estate franchisor Royal LePage's first three months of the year were “better than expected,” with Canadian aggregate home prices expected to rise nine per cent in 2024 from its previous forecast. 5.5 percent.

Vancouver home prices remain the highest in the country for now, but Royal LePage predicts a market shift in the second half of 2024 that could see Toronto prices surpass Vancouver.

In the first quarter of the year, the combined price of a home in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) rose 5.2 per cent to $1.1 million compared to the same period last year.

In Vancouver, the combined home price rose 3.4 percent to just over $1.2 million.

“This sustained price increase is expected to close the gap between the nation's two most expensive real estate markets,” says Royal LePage.

According to Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, Canada's two largest urban centers, Toronto and Montreal, are expected to show the highest rate of home price growth this year.

Aggregate home prices in the GTA are projected to increase 10.0 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a projected median price of $1.2 million by the end of 2024.

Montreal prices are expected to rise 8.5 percent over the same period to reach $614,978 by the end of the year.

According to the report, those projections outpace price growth in Calgary, which was previously expected to see the largest increase in home values ​​this year.

Royal LePage forecasts that aggregate home prices in the Greater Vancouver area will increase 5.5 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, to a median price of $1.2 million by the end of the year.

Canada's housing market has reached a critical inflection point after prices were flat in the first quarter of this year and then rebounded, and Canada's housing market recorded steady price growth and strong sales activity compared to the previous year, Royal LePage reported. .

“Rather than adopting a strategy of waiting for mortgage rates to fall, it's clear that the need to avoid rising home prices is motivating more and more buyers,” Soper said.

The Bank of Canada has held interest rates steady since July 2023, prompting many homebuyers to rush to move in anticipation of what will be a competitive spring market that will push home prices even higher.