The Rocca Sisters Blog

A new study was just released this month by the RBC-Pembina Institute that is focused on understanding where Greater Toronto Area residents prefer to live. This study helps to back up the statistics released in June from the Toronto real Estate Board that claims Toronto residents are flocking to surrounding suburbs, such as Oakville & Burlington. This is great news for Oakville and Burlington home owners, adding even more desirability to our already thriving community and housing market.

The Home Location Study reported that affordability is the driving force that influenced where the majority of GTA respondents (79%) purchase their home.* It also stated that nearly half of those surveyed (44%) prefer a more spacious home and yard for a lower home price despite having to drive to most destinations.* The report also confirms that the presence and number of children in a family was one of the strongest influencers of where the family wanted to live. It states that ‘families with two or more children would prefer more affordable homes in suburban locations with local amenities and requiring longer car commutes.*

With affordability being the driving force in the majority of home buyers decisions, the lack of affordable detached single family homes in Toronto, coupled with the substantial upfront cost of the City of Toronto’s Land Transfer Tax, is driving home buyers to suburbs such as Oakville and Burlington. Home sales in June 2012 for the City of Toronto were down an incredible 13% compared to June 2011, while sales throughout the other markets on the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) remained comparable to last year.** Ann Hannah, president of TREB, stated ‘Recent polling by TREB suggests that many households are considering home purchases outside the City of Toronto to avoid paying the Land Transfer Tax. This goes a long way in explaining the disproportionate decline in sales in the City versus surrounding regions.’**

These factors help to make our community and housing market even more desirable, opening our buyer pool to an even larger target group. As the #1 Team in Burlington and area for Royal LePage and #5 out of the approximately 14,500 agents across Canada for Royal LePage, you can trust the Rocca Sisters Team to be on top of the current market trends in your neighbourhood, and to get you top dollar for your most valuable asset. For more information about the real estate market in your community, don’t hesitate to call us directly at 905-335-4102 or email us at info@roccasisters.ca.

*RBC-Pembina Home Location Study: Understanding where Greater Toronto residents prefer to live, July 2012

**TREB Market Watch July 5, 2012