Sizzlers and fizzlers
July 12, 2008
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Catherine Farley
TORONTO STAR
Toronto real estate has been on a roller coaster ride over the past 40 years, with soaring highs, gut-wrenching lows, strange twists and heart-stopping turns.
As an investment, you could always count on upscale areas like Rosedale, Forest Hill and the Bridle Path to produce good long-term returns. But if you put your money in the Beach or Riverdale in the last 20 years – or in more recent hot spots like South Riverdale and East York – growth has been spectacular. And, while new development has boosted prices in outlying regions such as Milton, King and north Pickering, other areas in north Toronto and parts of Markham are flatlining.
Surprisingly, 40 areas across the GTA have not even kept pace with inflation since house prices hit their 1989 peak.
The three maps show how average house prices have evolved over the last 40, 20 and 10 years. The largest map – showing changes since 1999 – includes the outer regions, reflecting the increasing coverage of the Toronto Real Estate Board, which tracks resale housing sales.
Toronto Star