By: Penelope Graham, Zoocasa

Last spring, it seemed nothing could slow down the rampant pace of price growth in the
Greater Toronto Area real estate market – but a new slew of government rules introduced in
April 2017 successfully did just that.

The Fair Housing Plan, a 16-part set of measures that included a foreign buyers’ tax for homes
sold in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, caused a dramatic slowdown in both sales and home
values over the following months. While the decline was mainly attributed to the psychological
impact of the FHP on buyers and sellers, it did cause values to dip, especially for the most
expensive home types. The average price for a single-family, detached home in the City of
Toronto has fallen 17.8 per cent – accounting for $279,540 – between April of 2017, and
February 2018.

Still a Competitive Market

However, that’s not to say buyers can now scoop up houses for sale in Toronto at a bargain; in a
city as varied as the 416, conditions can change dramatically between neighbourhoods, and
multiple-offer situations are once again the norm as temperatures rise.
“There’s a lot of excitement at the moment and the buyers are out,” said Lauren Haw, Zoocasa
Realty’s Broker of Record. “There are pockets of the GTA, especially certain neighbourhoods in
Toronto, where we’re seeing fierce bidding wars – and other parts where conditions are more
balanced.”

As well, recent mid-month March data reveals month-over- month buying conditions continue
to strengthen, though still well before the record breaking activity seen last spring.

A Look at Local Toronto Prices

So which Toronto real estate neighbourhoods offer the best bang for your buck? To find out,
Zoocasa crunched year-over- year and month-over- month February price and sale numbers, to
see how values for detached and semi-detached homes have fluctuated over the last 12
months, which can be viewed in the infographic below.
Green neighbourhoods reflect a month-over- month price change greater than zero per cent,
indicating positive price growth. Blue neighbourhoods indicate price change lower than zero
per cent, signaling home values are cooling.