Toronto Suburbs York Region Real Estate Report

Toronto Suburbs York Region Real Estate Report

This is the third installment in a four-part series chronicling Toronto Suburbs real estate activity for winter 2011. This installment will focus on York Region which is located on the north border of the City of Toronto, and includes the following municipalities: Town of Markham, Town of Richmond Hill, City of Vaughan, Town of Aurora, Town of Newmarket, Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Town of East Gwillimbury, Town of Georgina, and the Township of King.
We will start off in the western part of the region with Vaughan “the City above Toronto”. Always popular with first time buyers Vaughan recorded 200 sales in the $330,000-$500,000 price range. Most of these sales were 3 bedroom attached or semi-detached homes. The $500,000-$1 million price range was very active with 360 sales. These were detached and mostly four bedrooms with a double car garage. Woodbridge was popular with these move up buyers. In the $1 million plus price range 15 houses sold with a large number of these in Kleinburg at the north end of Vaughan and Thornhill in the south end of Vaughan.
Moving north to the bucolic countryside and King Township, there have been 39 sales recorded thus far in 2011. The majority of these sales were in the $450,000-$950,000 price range with the median price around $700,000. Sales were pretty equally divided between the communities of King City, Nobleton, and Schomberg. There were an additional 8 sales in the King Township luxury market over $1 million dollars. These were Estate homes on multi- acre lots.
In the east part of York Region the Town of Markham which also shares a border with Toronto, posted 400 sales between $400,00-$600,000. These represented a mix of attached, semi-detached and detached houses generally 1500-2500 square feet with attached garages. The Cornell neighbourhood situated at Highway 7 and 16th Avenue was one of the busier spots. There were another 100 sales in the $600,000-$1,000,000 range. Many of these were in Unionville. Historic downtown Unionville has always been a popular magnet for homebuyers. A further 35 houses sold in Markham for over $1 million. Many of these were in the prestigious Angus Glen neighbourhood with premium lots backing onto the golf course. Additional high-end sales were also achieved in nearby Cachet Estates in the Kennedy Road and 16th Avenue area. The Bayview Glen neighbourhood at Bayview and Steeles produced approximately half of the million dollar plus sales.
The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville to the north of Markham produced 130 sales from $250,000 all the way up to $1 million. The median price was in the $400,000 range. A variety of in-town housing options were available to homebuyers in this price range. Adult lifestyle communities were also a popular drawing card. The luxury market was also well represented here with 12 sales surpassing $1 million. These were Estate lots either on the water or with a pond or on a wooded forest type lot. Equestrian farms also attracted luxury home buyers.
In central York Region, Richmond Hill real estate sales were also strong with 450 houses sold between $350,000-$1,000,000. Overall sales were fairly evenly divided between south and north Richmond Hill however there were a higher proportion of $1 million dollar plus sales in south Richmond Hill where exclusive pockets such as Bayview Hill, Bayview Woods and Heritage Estates commanded top prices. Oak Ridges to the north and houses around Lake Wilcox also achieved premium prices.
The Town of Aurora has one of the higher household per capita incomes in Canada so it was no surprise that over one third of the 150 sales recorded here were in excess of $500,000. There were 7 sales over $1 million. Two mansions situated in a gated community sold in excess of $2 million.
The Town of Newmarket is known as the “Heart of York Region”. There were 100 sales in the $240,000-$370,000 price range. Most of these were 3 bedroom starter homes. Another 100 sales took place in the $370,000-$650,000 price range, while another 10 sales were recorded in the $650,000-$1,000,000 mark.
In the Town of East Gwillimbury 46 sales were recorded. The median price was $400,000. Some examples included an attached 3 bedroom that sold in Mount Albert for $250,000, a traditional colonial revival that sold for $400,000 in Holland Landing and a ranch-style bungalow on a premium lot that sold for $700,000 in Sharon.
The Town of Georgina located at the north part of York Region on the shores of Lake Simcoe attracts both residential and recreational buyers. For the purposes of this report we will be focusing on residential sales. The bulk of the sales took place in Keswick and Sutton with 100 sales in the $120,000-$320,000 range. Many of these at the lower end were small frame sided bungalows. There were another 39 sales from $325,000-$860,000. The median price was $350,000 with just 4 sales over the $450,000 mark.
Please note all of the aforementioned stats are based on Toronto Real Estate Board MLS sales and are approximate numbers only. For a more detailed analysis of your community please contact the Realtor Sponsor on this website for your area.