Home values have doubled since 2000
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07/11/2011 2:00:00 PM
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Since 2000, the value of a Canadian home has doubled, rising from $163,951 to $339,030 in 2010, says a Canadian real estate organization.
According to a report released by Re/Max, billions spent in new construction, renovation, and infill over the past decade have contributed to a serious upswing in the calibre of Canada’s housing stock, propping up residential average price in the country’s major centres.
Nowhere has the upswing been better captured than in both the value of residential building permits issued nationally between 2000 and 2010—at $340 billion—and the estimated $450 billion spent in renovation. The impact of these two forces alone has fuelled the Canadian residential real estate market—as well as the construction industry—for more than 10 years.
As a result, investment in Canada’s housing stock is at an all-time high in the 16 Canadian residential real estate markets examined in the Re/Max Housing Evolution Report. Higher quality housing translated into extraordinary price appreciation across the country - with 62 per cent (10 markets) experiencing increases in excess of 100 per cent since 2000.
“While a number of external variables were also behind the exceptional gains, revitalization—amid an aging housing stock—and newer construction are largely underestimated factors supporting Canadian housing values,” said Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President, Re/Max Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “The trend is expected to continue for years to come as investment in residential real estate through renovation, infill, and redevelopment ramps up across the country. City planners, builders, developers, and homeowners have only just begun.”
The report found that the unprecedented sum funneled into housing has effectively changed the landscape of Canada’s major centres. New home construction has advanced suburban sprawl, giving rise to new sought-after pockets in virtually every centre across the board.
“Renovation has also had a tremendous impact on housing throughout the decade, so much so that it’s emerged as, arguably, Canada’s next national past time,” said Polzler. “Residential renovation spending has been gaining momentum year-over-year since the early part of the decade and now exceeds $60 billion annually.”