By the numbers: Toronto real estate

TORONTO – The Toronto real estate market continues to boom as 2011 came close to having a record number of homes sold.

Almost 46,000 new homes – roughly $22 billion of real estate — were sold in 2011, making it the second highest yearly total in Toronto’s history. We break down important statistics from Toronto’s real estate market.

High-rise vs. low-rise

Since 2000, there has been a trend away from detached homes and towards high-rise condo buildings. In 2011, “the industry saw new high rise home types reach a record high 62% of all new home sales,” according to a press release issued by RealNet Canada Inc. These numbers stand in marked contrast to the statistics of 2000 when low rise home sales dominated the market with approximately 75% of the total homes sold. “While total yearly new home sales remained relatively constant over the last 10 years, the GTA has seen a near complete reversal in the form of those sales, shifting from low rise to high rise,” said RealNet Canada’s President George Carras.

Population growth vs. Homes built

Over the past 30 years, the population of the Greater Toronto Area has grown by approximately 2.5 million people. According to RealNet Canada Inc. growth in the home sales has generally lagged behind population.

Over the past decade, the GTA grew by almost 100,000 people per year, with approximately 40,000 new homes being built.

Can the average Torontonian afford a home? 

While the high price of a home in Toronto may lead some to believe that owning a home is out of reach, say the Toronto Real Estate Board believes that a home is still within the grasp of most Torontonians. Homes in Toronto are “more or less in line with what we estimate to be a fair market value,” according to a spokesperson from The Toronto Real Estate Board.

Based on numbers from The Toronto Real Estate Board, the average Torontonian can expect to pay the following for a new home:

Average price of a home in Toronto: $465,412

Estimated household income: $102,000

Down payment: 20%

Average monthly mortgage: $372,340

5-year fixed mortgage at 4.38% mortgage rate – $2,036 a month.