Three years ago, you could buy a house in London, Ont., for $234,000. Today, it will cost you $364,000.“I call it the Toronto migration ” said real estate broker John DeBlock. “It’s not only from Toronto, though. Toronto people have gone to Kitchener. Kitchener people have come to London.”The GTA’s housing fever may have broken in spring 2017, but its heat is still dispersing around the province. DeBlock predicts it will linger for at least another year, and it isn’t confined to London.In Windsor, realtors are seeing bidding wars on most listings. In Barrie, 38 per cent of home sales involve an out-of-district realtor, most of them representing Toronto-area clients.Retirees, move-up and first-time buyers are looking to get more for their housing dollars by migrating to smaller Ontario markets. Technology and strong provincial employment are helping. Places such as Belleville, Niagara, Kitchener and Cambridge all saw double-digit price growth in the second quarter of the year, according to a report last month from Royal LePage.“Does it really matter where you live any more? Technology has increased the mobility of people. They don’t have to live in the community they work in,” said DeBlock, who says Toronto-area clients account for about 40 per cent of his business.When Toronto-area realtors cheered a 2 per cent year-over-year price gain in June, the London-St. Thomas Association of Realtors reported 10.5 per cent year-over-year growth in London — a 33 per cent increase over June 2016.Buyers from Brampton or Toronto can sell “the worst house” for $900,000 or $1 million. In London they can get “the best house” for $600,000 or $700,000, said DeBlock.He says his clients are happy to dispense with GTA commutes. “They can go an hour and a half to Mississauga, jump on a GO train and be in downtown Toronto in two to two-and-a-half hours and enjoy the ride,” he said.That ...
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