11-29-2015, 09:32 AM
(11-29-2015, 01:17 AM)Memph Wrote: Regarding Sheppard East, I think that area has always had a mix of incomes but much of the SFH areas have skewed upper-middle class for a while no? Is a doubling in prices really unusual in Toronto? Housing in many parts of Toronto has been getting more unaffordable, I'm not sure if Sheppard East has been seeing greater than average increases. Also this is more difficult to notice, because it's a gradual process, but has the older apartment stock filtered down, for example around the Peanut and Parkway Forest? The thing to keep in mind is when a developer buys up some older affordable apartments and townhouses and replaces them with more expensive high-rise condos, or an affordable and/or run-down building gets fixed up or modernized, that's a change that happens very suddenly, but only impacts a certain portion of the housing stock. Filtering down would typically affect most of the housing stock, but happen over a period of decades. Looking at income maps of the Sheppard East area, incomes have been fairly constant overall, although maybe things will change after the latest (2010) data.
I lived in the area for some 25 years and have followed real estate in the area during that period as well as since. There's no doubt that Sheppard E has been greatly redeveloped since the subway went in. There's no doubt that property prices have increased at above average (for Toronto) rates. From what I've seen house/condo prices in C15 used to lag Toronto averages. Now they lead. (I can't speak for the lower end of the market like Peanut Plaza and Parkway Forest because I never paid much attention to it.)
Now note that while I said this happened since the subway went in it doesn't mean a causal relationship exists. It could be that C15, especially Bayview Village, simply became trendy after many years of relative obscurity. It could also be a form of reversion to the mean, i.e. after years of lagging prices the area became relatively underpriced compared to adjacent areas, e.g. south of the 401 or closer to Yonge, thus attracting the attention of shrewd buyers who began to drive up prices.