How Baby Boomers are breaking Canada’s real estate market - In one of the tightest real estate markets ever recorded in Canada, Boomers are not letting go of their homes. It appears the real-estate wealthy Boomers are to blame for yet again disrupting markets. Traditionally, seniors sell their family homes and downsize or move into retirement communities. Born between 1946 and 1964, Boomers, who own a substantial share of Canadian real estate, are breaking that trend. They are aging in place.
December capped off a record year for real estate in the Greater Toronto Area — both in sales and price. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, 121,712 sales were reported through its MLS® System in 2021 — up an astounding 28% from 2020 which was a hot market, and 7.7% over the previous record high set in 2016. But as demand remained strong, the number of new listings on the market couldn’t keep up, with just a 6.2% increase in new listings compared to 2020.The average sale price for the GTA was up 24% from the prior year to $1,157,849, and the City of Toronto was up 15.5% to an average of $1,033,029.