Gerry and Ellen Bragg got almost $6,000 less for their Bramalea home than the market value assigned by MPAC.
Brampton area posting one of lowest gains in GTA
October 26, 2008
Staff Reporter
Shocked would be the polite way of describing Ellen and Gerry Bragg's reaction to their MPAC assessment notice.
The longtime Brampton residents had just sold their home in Bramalea a few weeks earlier and discovered the price they got for their 1,278-square-foot back split was almost $6,000 less than the market value assigned by MPAC.
"My lady-like reaction was `Holy cow!' but by then it was a done deal," said Ellen Bragg, 61.
The Bragg home sat on the market for more than six months and got only one offer despite having a large swimming pool, new hardwood floors and proximity to several schools and major highways.
The Braggs' experience is emblematic of the challenges facing residents trying to sell their homes in Brampton's Ward 8, near Queen St. E. and Dixie Rd. With an average assessment increase of just 2.7 per cent for 2009, the area is posting one of the lowest gains in the GTA.
The large lots and smaller homes in this neighbourhood are remnants of the GTA's post-war suburban expansion. The cozy 1960s architecture displayed by many has lost much of its sheen to the skylights and pitched roofs of modern subdivisions – tough competition for homes entering their fifth decade and facing increasing maintenance costs. It's a problem the city recognizes and is trying to fix.
Brampton real estate agent Berta Monteiro agrees that age and maintenance costs are a deterrent, but adds that an industrial area to the southeast also has an effect.
"There is a Magna plant, a couple of distribution centres and several other industries in that area, and it's just an older area in general," said Monteiro. But for some people, such as new immigrants, Monteiro said Ward 8 is attractive because of the lower prices.
Bragg, who bought into the neighbourhood 23 years ago, says she thinks one reason it took so long to sell her home was that it didn't feature a separate basement entrance – an attractive feature in an area drawing multiple-generation families or those wanting a rental unit.
Rob Elliott, Peel Region's manager of development financing, grew up in Bramalea. He says the city is looking at ways to redevelop the area and hopes the Bramalea GO Train station opening will help anchor high-density development.
"I think everybody who works around here recognizes there's good opportunities for redevelopment in that neighbourhood and that hasn't really started yet," said Elliott. "I would say the quality of the homes when they were built was fairly reasonable, but the housing mix is less attractive to new home buyers. It's had its day, so to speak."