Gary O`Brien - From Orangeville to Mississauga - On The Road Again: What A Difference A Decade Makes

What a difference a decade makes.  I had someone tell me in no uncertain terms the other day there was no way they were giving their house away (exclamation point, exclamation point).  I had done an assessment that, apparently, came in considerably lower than they had expected.  Haha - true story - it does happen.  This meant huge, I mean heee-yoodge, losses on this potential seller's part.  Kinda - well not really.  It turns out the owners had been there over ten years and had paid somewhat less than the number I presented them with.  Even after maintenance & upkeep, property taxes, etc., they were still way ahead of the game.  But, human nature being what it is, their interpretation of the number I suggested versus what they'd imagined equalled a loss.  Anyways, as I drove home I started thinking about how much their property had increased during the time of ownership and wondered how the numbers stacked up across the board.  I had a decision to make - do I watch "The Bachelor" when I get home, or bring out the abacus.  The latter won and here are some very general unscientific stats I came up with.  How much difference does a decade make?

During the month of December 1999 the average price of a detached home was as follows;

Orangeville ... $186,969 (13 sales)
Dufferin (excluding Orangeville) ... $191,674 (19 sales)
Caledon (excluding Bolton) ... $416,281 (16 sales)
Brampton (W23) ... $229,187 (70 sales)
Georgetown ... $260,033 (15 sales)
Port Credit ... $273,442 (19 sales)

During the month of December 2009 the average price of a detached home was as follows;

Orangeville ... $349,014 (21 sales)
Dufferin (excluding Orangeville) ... $343,606 (16 sales)
Caledon (excluding Bolton) ... $616,382 ( 17 sales)
Brampton (W23) ... $385,350 (168 sales)
Georgetown ... $494,711 (28 sales)
Port Credit ... $638,731 (26 sales)

Interestingly, these figures tie-in nicely with some statistics recently released by NAR's (National Association of Realtors) Research Bureau which found "those who owned a home for more than 21 years typically reported a selling price of 203% more than the purchase price."  You can read the full article by Sophia Stuart, Research Economist by clicking here.   

So how does the story end?  Fortunately for us all - they were in no rush and didn't need to sell so we all lived happily ever after.  True story.