If you’re wondering how Brantford, Ont. became our pick for the
best place to buy real estate in Canada, take a stroll down a grocery store
aisle to the Nutella section.
The beloved chocolate hazelnut spread is made in Brantford . So are Tic
Tacs and Ferrero Rocher chocolates. A plant operated by Tic Tac and
Nutella-maker Ferrero has become so important to the Brantford economy, the city hosts a World
Nutella Day celebration every February.
While other municipalities across Southwestern Ontario and the
Midwestern U.S. fell into a state of despair and disrepair in the wake of tough
times for the manufacturing industry, Brantford
has diversified its economy and thrived. Its low unemployment rate and
affordable yet steadily rising housing prices pushed the city to the top spot
in our annual ranking of the best places to buy property in Canada ’s major
urban centres.
In addition to Ferrero, Brantford
mayor Chris Friel focused on courting Japanese and European companies in the
food processing and advanced manufacturing industries. Brantford ’s
downtown has also experienced a significant boost from Conestoga
College and Wilfrid Laurier
University , which have
campuses in the city.
Friel says Brantford ’s
affordability and strong economy make it attractive to buyers in the Greater
Toronto Area.
“You can sell your home in Mississauga
for $720,000 and buy the same home in Brantford
for $420,000,” says Brantford
mayor Chris Friel. “You have all the amenities you need, and yet you’re only
five minutes away from beautiful little towns and a rural area.”
Brantford may not have seen the skyrocketing property values of
Vancouver or Toronto in recent years, with the average new detached home
selling for just over half a million dollars in 2017. But someone who bought
that house in Brantford
in 2007 would have generated an annual rate of return of 8.5 per cent over 10
years, better than the 7.1 per cent generated by the average single family home
in the Greater Toronto Area over the same period.
The fact Brantford
declared a state of emergency in February because of floods caused by ice jams
might give some would-be homebuyers pause. But Friel said the flooding was
contained to a localized area and didn’t affect the vast majority of
properties.
Even though Brantford is more than 100 kilometres away from
Toronto’s downtown, it’s still considered part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe,
an area stretching from Niagara to Peterborough, Ont. that has experienced a
lift in housing values as priced-out Toronto buyers look farther afield.
Two other Greater Golden Horseshoe cities made this year’s top
five — Peterborough, rising to second place from ninth last year, and Guelph,
which fell from last year’s top spot to number four. Even though it may not be
the best place to look for value, Victoria ’s
strong economy and eye-popping price increases propelled it to third
place.
Friel says the new Brantford
residents he talks to are attracted by more than the ability to finally qualify
for a mortgage. He says families feel safe letting their children walk to
school, enjoying the small town lifestyle while retaining the perks of city
living.
“A lot of the people I talk to, it’s not so much that they were
pushed out (of the Greater Toronto Area),” Friel says. “They saw the
opportunity during that market to be able to put some money in their pockets.”
NOTE: Home prices represent the average sale price of new,
single detached homes as reported by the Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation.
Rank
|
City
|
Average home
price (2017)
|
Average 5-year
rent increase
|
Avg income to
home price ratio
|
5-year annual
ROI
|
1
|
$506,016
|
20.27%
|
5.88
|
4.48%
|
|
2
|
$413,394
|
10.09%
|
4.76
|
4.62%
|
|
3
|
$975,838
|
20.18%
|
10.27
|
8.36%
|
|
4
|
$718,898
|
20.85%
|
6.92
|
10.54%
|
|
5
|
$416,028
|
16.86%
|
4.4
|
7.03%
|
|
6
|
Abbotsford -
|
$972,360
|
14.93%
|
10.64
|
11.22%
|
7
|
$2,264,596
|
23.63%
|
22.64
|
13.08%
|
|
8
|
$632,509
|
15.96%
|
6.29
|
8.24%
|
|
9
|
$485,801
|
13.55%
|
5.42
|
6.32%
|
|
10
|
$890,583
|
22.57%
|
9.33
|
3.85%
|
|
11
|
$622,853
|
24.01%
|
6.26
|
3.91%
|
|
12
|
$546,770
|
15.38%
|
6.57
|
4.66%
|
|
13
|
$464,981
|
11.11%
|
5.6
|
7.07%
|
|
14
|
$543,102
|
19.91%
|
5.49
|
4.57%
|
|
15
|
$521,934
|
11.15%
|
4.88
|
1.58%
|
|
16
|
Durham/Oshawa
|
$599,433
|
23.87%
|
5.37
|
8.03%
|
17
|
$453,471
|
17.15%
|
5.2
|
4.74%
|
|
18
|
$436,671
|
23.83%
|
4.68
|
1.64%
|
|
19
|
$1,020,375
|
18.05%
|
9.14
|
8.7%
|
|
20
|
$342,729
|
7.9%
|
4.23
|
3.26%
|
|
21
|
$520,963
|
13.83%
|
4.95
|
2.43%
|
|
22
|
$312,182
|
12.97%
|
3.9
|
2.73%
|
|
23
|
$421,939
|
4.71%
|
3.94
|
2.83%
|
|
24
|
Greater
|
$524,800
|
15.12%
|
5.42
|
6.47%
|
25
|
Halifax (NS)
|
$498,244
|
15.21%
|
5.67
|
3.14%
|
26
|
Trois-Rivières
(QC)
|
$332,461
|
7.98%
|
4.94
|
9.43%
|
27
|
$185,088
|
9.11%
|
2.52
|
-0.08%
|
|
28
|
$459,191
|
9.05%
|
4.35
|
2.37%
|
|
29
|
Québec (QC)
|
$376,110
|
11.38%
|
4.62
|
2.86%
|
30
|
$341,964
|
9.38%
|
4.9
|
4.15%
|
|
31
|
Montréal (QC)
|
$452,964
|
10.69%
|
5.66
|
2.16%
|
32
|
$407,745
|
13.59%
|
3.96
|
1.03%
|
|
33
|
$560,722
|
13.74%
|
4.87
|
1.75%
|
|
34
|
$370,095
|
7.7%
|
4.35
|
5.07%
|
|
35
|
$668,718
|
8.39%
|
4.91
|
2.88%
|
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