Last year, Toronto’s housing market was on fire. So much so that the city was named the world’s hottest residential housing market.
This year? Not so much. In fact, Toronto’s housing market has cooled off to such an extent that the city isn’t just slipping globally – the Ontario capital is now the weakest major market in Canada.
According to real estate consultancy Knight Frank’s Global Residential Cities Index, Toronto crashed to 137th place out of 150 cities when it comes to year-on-year price growth of housing. In the second quarter of this year, with the city posted a 2.8 per cent decline in house prices. Last year, Toronto’s 29.3 per cent year-on-year price growth put it atop the list.
The reason is in the drop is pretty clear. “Tax changes targeting foreign buyers or higher stamp duty (Vancouver, Toronto, Hong Kong) has led to slower growth at the luxury end of the market,” explains the report.
So, what is currently the hottest housing market in the world? That title goes to Ahmedabad, India, which posted a 12-month change of 19.4 per cent in the price of housing. Izmir, Turkey, and Hyderabad, India round out the top three.
Vancouver is Canada’s highest-ranking city, with housing prices increasing by 13.3 per cent over the past 12 months. Last year, Vancouver placed 52nd on the list. Other Canadian cities to score in the top 100 include Ottawa-Gatineau (62nd), Montreal (80th), and Halifax (85th).
It should be noted that the report includes figures from April-June of this year. Vancouver’s housing market has considerably cooled off in the time since, while Toronto has seen a rebound in its housing market. Nationally, sales are down 8.9 per cent from a year ago.