The rumours are true, Toronto investors are moving east! In fact, we have been informed that recently over 300 new build and to-be-built homes in the west end of Kingston were purchased by just such a group from Toronto.

Since the cost of new homes have had the largest yearly increase in pricing over the past 12 months, this also helps explain why the overall average price in Kingston “appears” to have risen dramatically (there have also been more high-end sales this year).  In actuality, some areas are still flat, while most have seen an increase in the 5-7% range Year To Date. 

Lack of inventory remains a theme in our current market with 900 less listings YTD compared to last year.  Combine this with over 200 more sales YTD, and you can see how this area went from a Buyer’s market to a Seller’s market in a very short period of time. With that said, there are still over 1500 active residential listings in our Local MLS Board and deals to be made!

However, popular properties are still selling quickly and often with multiple offers.  The average list to sale price is currently 97.5% in our area, which is why pricing a home properly and staging it to shine are so important.  From the buying side, a mortgage pre-approval can be a key negotiating tool, and with all the new rules in place it is imperative that Buyers have been pre-approved since the beginning of 2017.

Ontario’s new rules

It is too early to tell how extensively the proposed new housing rules for Ontario (combined with the new mortgage rules) will affect the Kingston Area.  They have been primarily designed to cool off the Toronto market for sure.  There is a lot going for this area, including the growing economy, the revitalization of Downtown and the Waterfront, and big money being spent on infrastructure.  Here’s a fun fact:  Kingston is currently considered one of the best industrial business investments in the Americas (yep, all of them).  Obviously, we feel this can only help our Real Estate Market in the years ahead!

For more info on Ontario’s New 16 Point Plan visit:

https://news.ontario.ca/mof/en/2017/04/ontarios-fair-housing-plan.html

For more info on Kingston’s Continued Growth Plan visit:

https://www.cityofkingston.ca/business/planning-and-development/official-plan/update