The luxury home market in Toronto is white hot this year, with sales of houses worth more than $4 million up 157% in January and February from a year earlier, according to Sotheby’s International Realty.
The record-breaking surge in Toronto luxury home sales has heightened concerns that a bubble is forming in Canada’s housing market, particularly in the cities of Vancouver and Toronto.
The 157% rise in sales of luxury homes worth more than $4 million compares to sale increases across all price ranges of 52% during January and February, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREB).
Among the luxury properties that changed hands in the first two months of the year, five sold for more than $10 million, compared with just one such house in the first two months of 2020, says Sotheby’s.
Rather than triggering a housing crash, the pandemic has pushed Canada’s market to new highs. Job losses have been concentrated among people who rent, while higher-paid professionals able to work from home have taken advantage of record-low mortgage rates to purchase larger houses.
High earners also favor detached homes. When condos are removed from the calculation, Sotheby’s data shows a 203% jump in the sale of luxury homes worth more than $4 million during January and February of this year.
