Scarborough waterfront soars to top of Toronto real estate market

Birchcliffe/Cliffside led the city with a 25.4 per cent increase, with the average home in the area climbing to 4,187, compared to 7,567 from one year ago

A swath of Scarborough waterfront has become Toronto’s hottest real estate market, at least in terms of price gains for existing detached homes, according to a new study.

The study, from Re/Max Hallmark Realty Ltd., one of the GTA’s largest brokerages, found that as the average sale price of an existing detached home in Toronto crosses $1-million, the biggest profits are being made in houses selling for less than a million.

Several neighborhoods in southern Scarborough are gaining the most.

Birchcliffe/Cliffside led the city with a 25.4 per cent increase, with the average home in the area climbing $724,187 as of the end of June, compared to $577,567 from one year ago. “The Scarborough community — nestled between the popular Beach area and the Scarborough Bluffs — has experienced a serious upswing in demand due to affordability and close proximity to Toronto’s downtown core,” said Re/Max in a release.

Next up in turns of percentages increase was Cliffcrest/Scarborough Village/Guildwood, up 23.9 per cent from a year ago, climbing from $609,047 to $754,437.

The Rouge/Malvern area saw prices rise 19.2 per cent during the same period, from $521,643 to $621,912.

Parkdale/High Park and western North York also saw notable gains.

Overall, by region, the real estate company said the east end of Toronto and York Region posted the greatest increases in average detached home values at 15.5 and 15 per cent respectively

Toronto’s central core had the most expensive average prices at $1,616,682, but that was only up 12.1 per cent from a year ago.

In the west end of Toronto, the average price of a home reached $822,539, up 10.3 per cent from a year ago.

RE/MAX Hallmark looked at 35 neighbourhoods in the 416 area code and nine communities in York Region and found that the average price of detached homes escalated 10 per cent or more in 63 per cent of 416 neighbourhoods and 67 per cent of York Region from a year ago.