BRAMPTON, MISSISSAUGA HOUSING PRICES UP DESPITE COVID-19

STRUGGLING ECONOMY HAS NOT PUT A DAMPER ON REAL ESTATE

It has been a little over a year and a half since the first COVID-19 case was identified in Peel Region in March 2020. Perhaps somewhat paradoxically, housing prices in Brampton and Mississauga have increased significantly over that time while the overall economy has struggled.

Experts have pointed to ultra-low interest rates and homeowners looking to upgrade to larger spaces, due to a shift to working from home during the pandemic, as some of the factors driving price growth.

Others, like the Toronto

Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), continue to blame supply shortages not keeping up with demand as a major factor.

"The only sustainable way to address housing affordability in the GTA is to deal with the persistent mismatch between demand and supply. Demand isn't going away. And that's why all three levels of government need to focus on supply," said TRREB president Kevin Crigger in the organization's latest update.

Based on monthly market data for resale homes from TRREB, both Brampton and Mississauga have seen massive price growth across all home types since March 2020.

How much have prices risen in those two cities over that time?

The average sale price for all types of Brampton dwellings tracked by

TRREB in March of last year was $807,019. That average has grown 34.5 per cent to $1,085,417 as of October 2021.

Breaking things down, detached homes in Canada's ninth-largest city

grew the most in terms of percentage, climbing 40.2 per cent from $928,890 in March 2020, to $1,302,553 last month. Semi-detached units in Brampton weren't far behind, with the average price for that market segment spiking 32.2 per cent — from $757,526 to $1,001,595 — since the start of the pandemic.

While increasing slower than their detached and semi-detached counterparts, townhouse and apartment-style condominiums both also hit record highs during the pandemic.

An average townhouse condo in Brampton could be had for $564,693 at the start of the pandemic, but has increased 30.8 per cent from $563,693, in March 2020, to a record high of $738,918 in October 2021.

Apartment condos have seen the smallest price growth at 15.1 per cent over the past 19 months, from $460,145 to $529,862 over that time.

The real estate story in neighbouring Mississauga has been much the same, with all market segments also hitting record highs since the start of the pandemic. However, average prices have grown at a much slower pace than in Brampton over that time.

The average sale price for all dwelling types in Mississauga — Canada's sixth-largest city — has climbed at less than half the pace of Brampton, growing 15.9 per cent from $860,158 in March 2020, to $997,187 last month.

Mississauga detached homes have grown 22.4 per cent in price to $1,558,244 in October, up from $1,273,225 in March 2020. Semi-detached units, meanwhile, saw average prices grow from $840,726 to $1,046,682, or 24.5 per cent.

Townhouse condo prices in that city have increased 22.2 per cent, from $666,281 to a record of $813,979 this past month. Likewise, apartment-style condos also hit a record high in October, coming in at an average of $604,208, up from $547,336 — or 10.4 per cent since the pandemic started.