Pack Your Bags: We’re Moving To The Yukon! – Toronto Realty Blog
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What in the world is this?
A random list of cities across the country?
Am I just showing off my knowledge of Canadian geography?
Kudos to anybody that read that list above and knew exactly where this was going, since this is a list of places my clients have moved to in the past two years after selling their homes here in Toronto.
I might be forgetting the odd client, and of course, there are a lot of people who have sold their properties in Toronto (usually condos) to relocate to larger and more affordable homes in neighbourhoods in Mississauga, Durham Region, or York Region, but the point is undeniable: a lot of people are moving out of the city.
Of course, a lot of people are moving into the city, and more than are moving out.
But we don’t have the same fascination with those moving to Toronto. It just seems like the natural thing to do.
It’s those who lived here and built lives here, only to move away, that interest us. And many of these folks are Toronto born-and-raised, who have never lived anywhere else.
As wonderful as our city is, some of us daydream about moving out of it.
If somebody here on our team is having one of those days, we might joke around and say, “What would life be like right now if you were a paddle-boat instructor in Fort Myers, Florida?”
What if you just decided to sell your Toronto house, pack up your things (and the kids…) and move to Goose Bay in Newfoundland?
Chris will always joke with me and say, “You can write blogs from anywhere. Move to Boston and start BRB; the Boston Realty Blog!”
I recognize that I’m tied to Toronto forever because of my occupation, but I’m one of those people that remain fascinated, often envious, of those who start new chapters in their lives by moving across the country, or down south, or across the world.
In 2014, my brother Neil moved his family to London, England, which I thought (or hoped?) was a short-term relocation for work that would serve as a means to an end. But here we are, coming up on eight years later, and the Fleming Family roots are firmly planted in the soil of Hampstead Heath. Sometimes, I get emotional just thinking about it.
We all have that friend or family member who moved away, some for a period, and some for good.
If you want to put a positive spin on this, you might remark, “It gives you a reason to travel; a person to visit!”
But in the meantime, our housing “crisis” here in the city of Toronto means that more and more people are looking for opportunities elsewhere, and those that have transferable skills and occupations are certainly leading the charge on that one.
With the average housing price in Toronto checking in at $1,242,793 in January, those who are not already in the housing market are realizing just how impossible it will be to break into, and thus the mind starts to wander, and wonder, “Where else could we lay our heads?”
This past weekend, I caught up on about thirty articles that had accumulated over a very busy week!
One such article was intriguing simply because I had never thought I’d read something like this:
“If You’re Joining The Urban Exodus, Don’t Look To Yukon For A Cheaper Life”Shari KulhaThe National PostFebruary 16th, 2022
Yukon, eh?
I think “Yukon” and I think “Yukon Gold” or “Yukon Potatoes.”
Actually, they’re officially called “Yukon Gold Potatoes,” so perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me…
The Yukon was originally a part of the North-Western Territory but obtained its first government in 1895 and officially split from the NWT and became its own territory in 1898.
the 2021 census showed a population of 40,232 people.
With an area of 482,443 square kilometers, that’s one individual for every 11.99 square kilometre. While that sounds like a lot, there’s one person per every 29.57 square kilometre in the Northwest Territories, and one person per every 55.31 square kilometre in Nunavut. Although, Nunavut basically extends to Santa’s Workshop so the comparison isn’t exactly apples to apples…
Although 40,232 people live in the Yukon, 28,201, or 70%, live in the capital of Whitehorse.
The major industry in The Yukon is the mining of lead, silver, gold, asbestos, zinc, and copper.
Manufacturing and hydroelectricity are also large sources of employment and economic output, although tourism is likely second to mining.
I’ll admit, I know nothing about The Yukon other than what I’ve just summarized above.
And yet, to read that article in the National Post this past weekend was fascinating!
From the article:
According to Canada’s 2021 census numbers, Yukon led the country in population growth, increasing by 12.1 per cent since 2016 and bringing its population to 40,232 from 35,874.
So says the federal government, but that figure doesn’t sit quite right with the territorial government.
The Whitehorse Star says the figure is in contrast with the May 2021 figures from the Yukon government, which showed a population of 43,568.
The paper also says there’s discrepancy in Whitehorse’s population, saying local figures have the city at 33,871 people, while the census numbers show 28,201 people.
Yukon chief statistician Gary Brown told the newspaper last week that one major reason for the discrepancy is the spring timing of the census, when many people are out on the land or working in the bush, and don’t have internet service or even mail on a regular basis.
“We’re a small population in a vast geographic area,” Brown told the paper. “There’s usually about a five per cent discrepancy in the numbers.”
Yukon’s population growth was the fastest in the country, more than double the national average of 5.2 per cent, and that growth is amplifying an already longstanding housing shortage, CBC noted.
Manitoba native Marcus Schneider wants to move to Yukon, into a two-bedroom apartment, but is struggling to secure a place.
“I’m finding a lot of places, especially within Whitehorse, that are — on the low end — $2,400 a month without utilities, and they go all the way up to $3,500 for some of the places with a garage,” he told CBC.
That’s around three quarters of his monthly wage.
According to data from 2021, a median two-bedroom apartment commands about $1,300 per month, but there, too, the figures don’t tell an accurate story. Many locals who spoke with CBC said the average price is currently around $2,000, and several recent online rental listings prove the point. One new two-bedroom, 800-sq.-ft. apartment is listed at $1,900 with utilities included, while a two-bedroom apartment in a house is also asking $2,000, with some utilities included.
As for houses, the average sale price of a single detached house in Whitehorse at November 2021 was a record $656,800, an increase of 15.4 per cent over a year.
A 2021 report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. found housing affordability to be a serious challenge in Yukon, particularly in Whitehorse.
During the pandemic, an exodus of urbanites occurred in most cities across Canada. Some of those people moved to the Yukon, with its outstanding natural beauty and sense of community.
“We see a lot of people that leave from other provinces … come here in the search of de-urbanization,” Whitehorse-based real estate agent Marc Perreault told Radio-Canada in French.
The average sale price for a detached house here in Toronto in January was $1,886,413, so that “record” price of $656,800 in Whitehorse last November seems relatively cheap.
But with a front-page article about an “exodus” to The Yukon, I wanted to dig into real estate prices and property styles there, so this is what I found…
By my count, there are only 152 properties for sale in all of Yukon.
Approximately 125 of those are in Whitehorse and the surrounding area.
A lot of these properties, however, are pre-construction!
Consider the new “Pin Cherry Place” which is pre-selling Phase One units, scheduled for completion in July of 2022:
They might look a little like army barracks, but maybe that’s just not the best artist’s renderings.
Here’s the floor plan, which looks like it was drawn by a very steady hand:
These units are 665 square feet.
Any idea on the price?
$329,900.
That’s $496/sqft, and I have no idea if that’s high or low for The Yukon, but compared to Toronto it’s a pittance!
Now, what can we find of the freehold variety?
How about this:
That’s a 3-bed, 2-bath townhouse, priced at $499,000.
1,673 square feet and built in 2012.
They might have benefitted from some staging…
But I don’t think “staging” is a thing up there.
In any event, $499,000 for a 3-bed, 2-bath, 10-year-old townhouse is affordable, no?
I’m by no means an expert in Whitehorse neighbourhoods, so I don’t know where this location ranks, but if Google Street View is any indication, much of the original housing stock in Whitehorse looks like this:
Perhaps it’s just me, but if I’m moving to Yukon, I’d expect to get something like this:
A log cabin!
Beautiful!
And for only $594,500.
3-bed, 2-bath, built in 1996.
The lot size is 74 x 114, which we would think is an estate here in the city, but I’m sure that’s average up there.
If we head “downtown,” we’ll find more new housing stock.
This was just finished, with a “built in” date, according to MLS, of 2022:
78 Witch Hazel Drive.
Damn, they have great street names up there!
3-bed, 3-bath, 1,920 square feet and the house is “Super Green,” which I suppose has to do with the environment rather than the paint colour…
The National Post article mentioned that the average sale price in Whitehorse in November was $656,800, but I can’t seem to find many houses with an asking price above that figure. By my count, there are only 24 listings, but most of these are for land. I’m actually only counting 6 proper houses.
So let’s look at one of the few houses that’s actually priced above that $656,800 average.
Here’s one, listed at $789,900 on Neecheach Street:
Look at the houses to the left and to the rear. They’re under construction.
In fact, it seems like this whole neighbourood is under construction…
I suppose this is the new housing stock in Whitehorse and this is what one might expect to pay.
It’s a 4-bed, 3-bath, 2,280 square feet and just completed this year.
So what does a million bucks get you in Whitehorse?
It gets you this:
Nice house, right?
But it’s not the house that’s the draw here.
Where is the house?
Or better yet, what’s behind it?
Check this out:
That’s unbelievable!
It gives “waterfront living” a whole new meaning.
This is a 4,300 square foot, 4-bed, 3-bath house built in 2007.
But that “feature photo” above does the house no justice.
If this were my listing, I’d have used this photo:
Lake, trees, mountains, sky.
All for $999,900, or less, if your Yukon agent can negotiate.
I have a listing coming up next month for a 2-bed, 2-bath condo that my client purchased for $380,000 a decade ago, and for which I think we’ll surpass $1,000,000 in March.
Tough to compare that to a mansion on Army Beach, right?
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