Despite having the highest median housing prices in Canada, Vancouver first-time home buyers spend a median of $420,000, compared to $425,000 in Toronto, according to The Red Pin, a Toronto-based real estate broker and research firm. At the bequest of BIV, Red Pin recently researched a comparison of the housing markets in Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary.
The first-time buyer data, based on mortgage insurance, showed Calgary had the highest rate of novice buyers in the country, with first-time buyers paying a median price of $370,000.
Advantage, Calgary.
Vancouver also came out ahead of Toronto on land transfer taxes, because B.C. home buyers only pay the provincial property transfer tax. In Toronto, buyers pay both provincial and municipal taxes. There is no land transfer tax in Calgary.
Based on a $500,000 home sale, transfer taxes would total $8,000 in Vancouver and $12,200 in Toronto. In Calgary, buyers need only pay a $280 registration fee, according to Red Pin.
Advantage, Calgary.
Where Vancouver really leads both other cities is in bidding wars, Red Pin discovered. “A Vancouver house that was listed at $5.99 million sold in 12 days for $2 million over asking in May. In June, a home listed at just under $3 million sold for $1.1 million over asking, in just hours. Toronto is also famous for bidding wars, and even with a cooling market, Calgary is still seeing modest annual increases (1.8 per cent on detached; 8.3 per cent on attached) in property values, due to less inventory,” Red Pin reports.
In this category, Vancouver clearly has the advantage, at least for home sellers.
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