Kingston, Ont. has the fastest rising home prices in all of Canada, new numbers show
Kingston's housing market is red hot.
According to a report by Royal LePage's house price survey, the city's housing prices have jumped higher than any other city in the country.
The aggregate price of a home in Kingston increased 38.1 per cent year-over-year, reaching $722,100 in the fourth quarter of 2021. While the median price of a single-family detached home increased 44.3 per cent to $780,600.
Nikki McAlpine has been trying to buy a three-bedroom home in the city for more than two years. She wants a bedroom for herself and her husband, one for their young son, and one for her mother, who is now living with them.
“It just makes it really discouraging for people like us,” she says of the market. “We’ve managed to get a lot of debts paid off, and we’ve got an approval now of $400,000 and there’s nothing.”
For a city this size, she's considering what was once an unthinkable commute.
“We’ve looked within a one-hour radius of Kingston, if we can at least get a home, we’re willing to drive to work and there’s nothing. There’s absolutely nothing,” she says.
The report shows about half of the buyers are coming from outside the region, the majority of them from Toronto, where housing prices are listed as the highest in the country now.
David Gordon, a Queen's University professor for the School of Urban Planning, says one big factor has been the pandemic. It has workers looking elsewhere for more affordable homes with more space.
“Kingston was always just a little too far, at two-and-a-half hours away, but remote work has made distance a little bit more achievable,” he says.
In Toronto, $400,000 listings include one-bedroom condos in North York. In Ottawa, a four-bed, two-bath attached home is listed in Orléans.
But in Kingston, a house listed at that price includes a three-bed, two-bath detached house in the city's desirable west end.
The report shows with a small number of houses on the market, there are bidding wars for the ones that are available, driving prices up.
Gordon says Kingston itself has proven to be an attractive draw.
“Kingston has a lot to like; it has one of the best downtowns of any medium city in North America, has a lovely historic core and a terrific waterfront.”
But all of those soaring values leave people like McAlpine out.
“Honestly feels like for someone like myself, first-time homebuyer, decent income, great credit, the good down payment? It shouldn’t be this hard. It really shouldn’t,” she says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.