Homes under $500,000 almost extinct in Ontario, report indicates
Published February 28, 2024 at 1:55 pm
A recent report conducted on behalf of The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) has revealed that homes within the price range of $500,000 are in short supply across the province.
According to MPAC’s data, the average home in Ontario is valued at around $765,000, with prices only increasing the closer you get to the GTA, with the average home being upwards of $1,000,000 in that specific region.
“The reality is that current home prices are a reflection of various economic forces at play. Factors like supply and demand, increased construction and labour costs plus inflation are all part of what’s driving today’s house prices,” says Greg Martino, Vice President and Chief Valuation and Standards Officer for MPAC, in their official report.
However, all hope is not lost, as data collected on behalf of MPAC shows that in Ontario, some municipalities still contain homes hovering around the $500,000 price point. Areas with more affordable housing include Sault Saint Marie, North Bay, Thunder Bay and Windsor.
Additional data also indicates that the majority of homes operating in the modern pricing standard of $750,000 can be found in the southern core of Ontario, in cities like Ottawa, London, Kitchener, Kingston, Barrie, and Peterborough.
In GTA cities such as Mississauga, Brampton, Burlington and Pickering, less than five per cent of houses are priced under $500,000.
The scope of prices collected by MPAC in Southern Ontario in 2023 is as follows:
| Municipality | % of properties less than 500K | % of properties between 500K and 750K | % of properties between 750K and 1M | % of properties between 1M and 1.5M | % of properties over 1.5M |
| Mississauga | 2.5 | 22.1 | 22.5 | 36.9 | 16 |
| Brampton | 2.4 | 9.7 | 31.7 | 44.7 | 11.5 |
| Burlington | 2.2 | 18.1 | 25.7 | 37.2 | 18.8 |
| Milton | 0.3 | 12.4 | 29.0 | 47.4 | 10.9 |
| Pickering | 0.8 | 17.6 | 33.7 | 38.2 | 9.7 |
| Whitby | 0.8 | 9.2 | 43.1 | 41.9 | 5.0 |
| St. Catharines | 30.1 | 49.0 | 14.4 | 5.1 | 1.4 |
| Niagara Falls | 22.2 | 54.1 | 17.4 | 5.2 | 1.1 |
| Caledon | 0.0 | 1.4 | 16.8 | 49.8 | 32.0 |
| Hamilton | 11.1 | 36.3 | 29.6 | 18.8 | 4.2 |
| Halton Hills | 0.5 | 9.3 | 32.1 | 42.1 | 16.0 |
| Oakville | 0.2 | 10.3 | 9.7 | 31.8 | 48.0 |
| Oshawa | 5.7 | 45.2 | 31.4 | 16.9 | 0.8 |
| Ajax | 0.9 | 11.2 | 44.2 | 40.5 | 3.2 |
| Clarington | 2.3 | 28.7 | 44.9 | 20.7 | 3.4 |
| Welland | 31.0 | 54.3 | 11.7 | 2.8 | 0.2 |
Regarding concerns for specific properties like condos, townhouses, detached homes, etc., MPAC has noted further shifts in the real estate landscape.
In the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, only 11 per cent of condos are currently valued at $500,000, with the median price sitting at $645,000, according to MPAC’s data.
For semi-detached houses and townhouses, only 13 per cent of them sit at the ideal price point of $500,000. Whereas detached homes — which were valued at $378,000 a little over a decade ago — now hold a staggering average of $862,000, an increase in value of 128 per cent.
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