New Canadians account for one in five of all housing purchases and are expected to buoy the market in the Toronto region and across Canada over the next several years, says a new survey for Royal LePage.

“Ontario and specifically the Greater Toronto Area has greatly benefited from international migration to Canada,” said Chris Slightham, president of Royal LePage Signature Realty.

Slightham suggested that the demand will support increases in residential real estate values in Toronto and surrounding areas.

“Neighbourhoods across the greater region are blossoming with the continued influx of newcomers who are looking for good schools and job opportunities in thriving communities,” added Slightham, in a media release.

He said the combined impacts of a growing economy and strong jobs market along with burgeoning demand for affordable housing among younger and new Canadians makes it crucial that housing supply keeps pace in a market where supply is already tight.

“That is the challenge, getting homes built faster,” said Slightham.

He said demand can be met through housing policies that encourage sustainable development with a focus on protecting and developing green spaces in urban centres.

According to the August 2019 survey of 1,500 immigrants who arrived in Canada within the past decade, newcomers represent 21 per cent of all home buyers, with the group expected to acquire 680,000 properties over the next five years. In 2018, international migration accounted for 80.5 per cent of Canada’s population growth, Statistics Canada data shows.

Despite expressing a strong desire to own a home, the ownership rate for newcomers is only 32 per cent versus 68 per cent for all Canadians, according to the Royal LePage Newcomer Survey released Wednesday.

In Ontario, which accounts for about 46 per cent of all international migration to Canada, the rate for the group is three percentage points lower, reflecting in part the high cost of home ownership in the GTA.

Newcomers in Ontario account for 21 per cent of all home buyers in the province and are projected to purchase 286,000 homes over the next five years at the current rate of migration.

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Demand for homes in Toronto continues to grow amid lower interest rates and limited supply — and as buyers adjust to stricter mortgage-lending rules. The average resale home price for all housing types in the Toronto region rose 5.8 per cent year over year in September to $843,115 as the number of new listings fell 1.9 per cent compared with a year ago, the Toronto Real Estate Board said.

With real estate prices roughly half of the cost of Toronto and a third the cost of Vancouver, Ottawa is becoming an attractive destination for newcomers to Canada, according to the survey.

“The demand from both newcomers and first-time home buyers has put considerable upward price pressure on inventory between $300,000 and $500,000,” added Jason Ralph, managing partner, Royal LePage Team Realty in Ottawa.

The Royal LePage survey also found newcomers are likely to be a family with children (31 per cent), a student (25 per cent) or a sole applicant (20 per cent). Three-quarters arrive with savings to help purchase a property, although the study showed on average newcomers wait three years to buy a home.

It says 51 per cent of newcomer purchasers buy a detached house, 18 per cent buy a condominium, 15 per cent a townhouse and 13 per cent a semi-detached home.

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Nationally, 82 per cent of respondents remain in the region of their first residence.

CREA reports home sales in September up 15.5 per cent from year ago

OTTAWA—Home sales in Canada’s big cities continued a rebound in September with a 15.5 per cent increase in sales compared with a year ago, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

The association said Tuesday that sales compared with a year ago were up in Canada’s large urban markets, including B.C.’s Lower Mainland, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton-Burlington, Ottawa and Montreal, while data showed markets were still in balanced territory.

“Home sales activity and prices are improving after having weakened significantly in a number of housing markets,” said CREA chief economist Gregory Klump in a statement.

“How long the current rebound continues depends on economic growth, which is being subdued by trade and business investment uncertainties.”

On a month-over-month basis, home sales through the Canadian Multiple Listing Service were up 0.6 per cent in September.

Higher home sales in September was a continuation of a rebound from a six-year low hit in February. Sales started to pick up in March after mortgage rates started to fall, said BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic.

“The winning streak for Canadian existing home sales continued in September…that marks an impressive seventh consecutive monthly gain, leaving the level of activity comfortably above the 10-year average.”

The national average price for homes sold in September 2019 was about $515,500, up 5.3 per cent from the same month last year.

Benchmark home prices in Greater Vancouver were down the most from a year ago after a 7.3 per cent decline. The Greater Toronto area saw the benchmark price climb five per cent, while Ottawa saw the biggest gains reported at 9.6 per cent from a year ago.