It’s no secret Durham’s housing market has been heating up but now, a recent report suggests home values have soared even higher.
“We really enjoy the quiet here,” said Kate Fish, who is a Whitby homeowner.
That’s part of the allure for Fish and Trevor Xue, who recently moved to south Whitby from Toronto.
“When Trevor’s job turned remote we didn’t have to be in the city anymore,” said Fish.
“I love the city but during the pandemic it’s just every amenity that we signed up for, that we moved to The Beaches for was either closed or you had to wait,” said Xue.
While it’s been a bit of an adjustment leaving the city for the suburbs, it’s one they say, has come with better trade offs.
“The neighbourhood was a lot more what we wanted, we’ve got the lakes so close by and it’s something if we had all those things in Toronto we would never be able to afford,” said Fish.
It’s only been a few months since they moved in, and already, they say the value of their home has shot up by about 20 per cent.
“It’s been like hyper speed, you can appreciate within six months,” said Xue.
According to a recent report put out by Properly, Durham Region has seen the greatest appreciation in the Greater Toronto Area over the past year and a half.
Oshawa ranked highest at almost 50 per cent, and Whitby at nearly 40 per cent.
“What we’re now finding is that the spread between Mississauga and Oshawa used to see the average home 40 per cent more expensive in Mississauga than Oshawa. Today that spread is closer to 20 per cent,” said Anshul Ruparell, Properly CEO.
Ruparell says throughout the pandemic, prospective buyers have become more willing to leave city living behind.
“They’re realizing their demand for space is not what it once was, and that’s unleashed a lot of home buyers to want to go and buy that first big home for their family,” said Ruparell.
As for Kate and Trevor, the rapid increase in value has them once again considering whether to put their home on the market.