Kingston, Ont., more than doubled the housing targets set for 2023. The city, however, is yet to see affordable new units come online for first-time buyers in the spring market.
RELATED: Canada’s housing market stagnated in fall 2023 — not a surprise with high interest rates and the end of buying season. With lending rates holding at five per cent since last summer, many have speculated the cost of borrowing will decline in the months ahead. At the same time, declining rates could push prices through the roof once again.
The benchmark price for a home in Kingston in February 2024 was $543,800, down 0.3 per cent from the same time last year. Nationally, the Canadian Real Estate Association had the average price at $685,809, up 3.5 per cent year over year. In short, despite a population of fewer than 150,000 people, Kingston is defined by many of the characteristics that drive the cost of homes across the province.“We are a very transient market, to be honest,” said Erin Finn, president of the Kingston and Area Real Estate Association, in an interview with Global News.
Average listing prices in the city peaked at just under $750,000 in early 2022. While that number has dropped to $543,800 in 2024, it still sits far above historical rates. Through much of 2015 to 2018, listing prices in Kingston sat between $250,000 and $350,000. Kingston Coun. Vincent Cinanni said he had seen developers move away from single and semi-detached family homes and even the buying and selling market altogether. He said the city’s red-hot rental market — driven by students and graduates who can’t afford to buy — has made rental properties particularly appealing to builders.
“If this problem is not fixed — by creating more housing to meet the growing demand — housing prices will continue to rise. We need to build more housing in Ontario.” “If you can put four homes on one piece of land, that is far cheaper than having to buy additional parcels of land to house people,” he said.
The Greater Toronto Area, in particular, sees demand from across the world with many new Canadians landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport and settling nearby. The federal government is currently targeting 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024 and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.
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