A new report has found Newmarket is one of 15 municipalities across the country where more than half the homes for sale cost $1 million or more, above even Vaughan and Markham on the list.
Point2Homes analyzed the 70 most populous communities in Canada to rank which cities have a "lavish shares of luxury homes for sale" — it considers $1 million the minimum price point for what luxury entails — and Newmarket made the list at No. 6 with 61 per cent of homes listed for $1 million or more.
The report marks the shift in the definition of luxury, with nearly one-quarter of properties for sale in Canada selling for at least $1 million, while the nationwide average home priced well above $700,000.
"... the meaning of luxury seems to have shifted: From the fusion of grandeur and sophistication to the intersection of practical and comfortable exclusivity."
Richmond Hill is No. 4 with 63.3 per cent of homes listed above the price point; Vaughan is No. 9 at 58.6 per cent and Markham is No. 10 at 58.3 per cent.
“A million dollars is still very much a starting point for a three-bedroom detached home in Newmarket,” Joshua Campbell, founder and principal broker with Knowledge Broker Real Estate, told NewmarketToday.
Sarah Colucci, mortgage agent with Sherwood Mortgage Group, said a lot of people find Newmarket a desirable place to live but interest rates, immigration, and the pressure on housing, however, are hiking up the cost.
“Even with interest rates rising, it hasn’t corrected much,” said Colucci. “That’s because of supply and demand. There aren’t enough homes to house people.”
Campbell said the town has a hospital, schools, parks, Main Street, access to highways, and proximity to Toronto, making it an attractive place to live.
“You have the downtown vibe of Main Street without having to live in a booming metropolis like Toronto,” said Campbell.
Delta, B.C. tops the list with more than 80 per cent of homes listed for sale at $1 million or more. Vancouver follows with 70.5 per cent of homes on the market for $1 million or more.
Colucci said Newmarket has changed in the past 35 years as the community has promoted a higher quality of life.
“The subdivisions are catering to middle and upper middle class, so you’re getting a better suburban area if you’re looking to live somewhere with your family,” said Colucci.
Prices in Newmarket have gone up incrementally this year compared to last year. According to data from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), the average price of homes in Newmarket was $1,230,610 as of February. There were 85 sales that month and 155 new listings.
Campbell hasn’t worked with a first-time home buyer in quite some time, finding that there aren’t many homes for young people trying to enter the market. He does, however, state there could be hope in the future for young people to buy in town when condos are developed.
“When condo development comes, I think Newmarket will start to thrive with a young community,” said Campbell. “If you look at the job base, with Newmarket not too far from the city, also having all the regional and private opportunities and ability to work from home but still able to get on a GO Train and end up in the city in 50 minutes, you can see why a lot of people can choose Newmarket as the place to live with access to everything, and it still will be more affordable than living in a condo in the city in the future.”
The recent trend this year shows the price of homes rebounding, though not as much as 2022. Homes in February 2023 were listed for $1,174,836, an 18.6 per cent decrease from February 2022 when the average price was $1,443,690 in Newmarket.
There were 75 residential sales in February 2023, which was half as many as the same month in 2022 when there were 150 sales.
The board states population growth and a resilient regional economy continued to support the overall demand for housing in the Greater Toronto Area.
