Where to Buy Real Estate in Canada 2023: York Region, Ont.
York Region’s real estate market had a year of peaks and valleys in 2022. These are the York neighbourhoods to watch as the market stabilizes.
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York Region’s real estate market had a year of peaks and valleys in 2022. These are the York neighbourhoods to watch as the market stabilizes.
In the table below, you’ll find the top neighbourhoods for real estate purchases in cities like Markham, New Market, Richmond Hill and Vaughan—the Ontario region known as York. To view all the data, slide the columns right or left using your fingers or mouse. You can download the data to your device in Excel, CSV and PDF formats.
Source: Zoocasa
York Region’s real estate market had a year of peaks and valleys in 2022. Homes hit their price peak in February at $1,587,603. In March, mortgage rates began to climb as the Bank of Canada (BoC) hiked its policy interest rate, putting downward pressure on home prices. Between February 2022 and January 2023, the average home price in York fell about 19% to $1,285,583.
“The 2022 market changed very quickly in York. Buyers and sellers had to pivot in the latter part of the year as interest rates rose and buyer demand reduced,” explains Zoocasa real estate agent Brian Gilbert. As the cost of borrowing increased, competition slowly began to dissipate, he says. “Conditions became difficult for sellers from March to April. They went from receiving multiple offers to receiving fewer and fewer showing requests. Sellers had to reset their expectations.”
With fewer prospective buyers entering the market, the region’s sky-high real estate prices began to creep down. “The detached family home is always most in demand in York,” explains Gilbert. Before prices started to fall, he says, “Some buyers felt they would never be able to find a detached home in York Region for under $1 million, and all of a sudden there were multiple property types in their budget to choose from.”
In January 2023, the BoC once again raised its policy interest rate, from 4.25% to 4.5%. At the time, the Bank said it expected to pause interest rate hikes for a while.
As interest rates settle and York Region home prices begin to level off, buyer interest is beginning to grow again. “Currently, there’s more activity on the buyers’ side, from those who were sitting on the fence but are now re-entering the market,” says Gilbert.
Despite the fact that home prices have flattened in some areas of York, high interest rates mean that mortgages remain more expensive than they were at the start of 2022. Although buyers are trickling in, the progress of the market will likely stay slow. Some buyers may choose to act on the Bank’s optimistic signal, while others may need to wait until mortgage affordability improves.
Gilbert expects a gradual return of the real estate market. “It’s likely that the much-anticipated spring market won’t play out like last year’s,” he says. “Conditions are normalizing, but the market may move at a slower pace than what we were accustomed to in the past two years.”
Located on the east side of Markham, Vinegar Hill is a scenic and historic neighbourhood. At the end of 2022, the average home price reached $1,044,349, which was 13% higher than one year earlier, 187% higher than three years earlier and 81% higher than five years earlier. Along with this impressive price growth, Vinegar Hill is the only York neighbourhood to receive a perfect value score of 5, and its 3.7 economics score is also fairly high. The neighbourhood has several walking paths and parks, making it a great place for nature lovers and families—53% of households have children. However, driving is the main mode of transportation, so Vinegar Hill’s accessibility score is average, at 2.5.
View Vinegar Hill real estate listings on Zoocasa.
Thanks to its affordability and excellent location, this Vaughan neighbourhood took second place on our list. Concord had an average home price of $754,499 at the end of 2022—the lowest in York. The average price was up 12% from one year earlier and up 55% from five years earlier. Concord received the third-highest value score on our York list, at 4.3, and a similarly high economics score of 3.9. The neighbourhood offers easy access to public transportation and commuter highways, giving it an accessibility score of 4. Fifty-four percent of households have children, and the area has plenty of schools.
View Concord real estate listings on Zoocasa.
Armitage is situated in south-central Newmarket, offering residents a good mix of green space and commercial areas. It had an average home price of $1,270,152 at the end of 2022, which was 18% higher than one year earlier and 47% higher than five years earlier. This steady price growth earned the neighbourhood a 3.6 value score. It has an economics score of 4, and families especially enjoy this area, as 65% of households have children.
View Armitage real estate listings on Zoocasa.
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