Housing prices in this Ontario city are absolutely booming
People selling homes in one Ontario city are scoring big as housing prices surge to record levels.
The median price for a home in Brantford, located about 110 kilometres south-west of Toronto, has skyrocketed more than 40 per cent over past year, figures show.
In July 2021, the median price for a Brantford home was $777,026.
The average price of a detached home in Toronto is currently about $1.7 million, meaning that in Brantford, you could save one million dollars.
One real estate expert thinks COVID-19 is playing a bit part in the booming market.
"I think people took a moment to reflect and see what was important to them," Remax Broker Judy Lillico, who has worked in the area for 21 years, told CTV News Toronto.
"Sitting in a 600-square-foot condo was not as appealing as getting a two-storey three-bedroom detached home with a yard at a much better price point."
While the Brantford housing prices may seem like a steal to Toronto buyers, Mayor Kevin Davis said there is a big downside to these escalating prices.
"If you're young family trying to get into the housing market, it becomes difficult for looking families to buy a home in their own city," Davis said.
Lillico believes some out-of-town buyers may have second thoughts down the road.
"My guess is some people are going to choose to go back when COVID is over and some will decide this is the life for them," Lillico said..
For people who are eventually forced back into the office, living in Brantford will make for a long daily commute to Toronto.
With files from CTV News Toronto's John Musselman.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.