MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Ontario's housing market continues to perform beyond industry expectations, according to a report by the RE-MAX real estate firm.
It says stronger-than-expected consumer confidence has fuelled extraordinary demand for properties this year.
RE-MAX says residential real estate sales in the first five months of the year are higher in 28 of 33 markets surveyed.
Parry Sound led the province in terms of percentage increase in unit sales with a double-digit gains of 20 per cent. The Clarington region, Trenton, Belleville, North Bay and Pembroke also scored high.
Average prices also soared higher, with Timmins recording a 29 per cent year-over-year increase. Sharp increases were also recorded in Sudbury (22 per cent), Haliburton (20 per cent) and Collingwood, North Bay, Pembroke-Petawawa and Sarnia (10 per cent).
Michael Polzler, the regional director of RE-MAX Ontario-Atlantic, says demand is expected to continue throughout the traditional slow summer months and shatter existing records for sales and price by year-end.
