Category
Expert Analysis
Date
April 14, 2016
Listen up Toronto condo investors, we are going to start this week’s CONNECT Asset Management article with some math. Every year 81,000 people move to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). That is 6,750 people a month. Or, if you want a more impressive figure: every day 221 people move to the GTA.
And this number is increasing. According to projections by the Ontario Ministry of Finance, the GTA is estimated to be “the fastest growing region of the province, with its population increasing by almost 3 million, or 45.8 percent, to reach over 9.4 million by 2041.” Let’s let that sink in for a minute.
Further, according to Statistics Canada, the GTA’s share of Ontario’s population is estimated to rise from 47.2 percent in 2011, to 52.9 per cent by 2041.
Broken down by region, between 2006 and 2011, population increases were as follows:
- – City of Toronto – 4.5%
- – Region of Durham – 8.4%
- – Region of Halton – 14.2%
- – Region of Peel – 11.8%
- – Region of York – 15.7%
And, in case you’re wondering, the GTA currently accounts for 17% of Canada’s population. And this too will increase, but now we’re just bragging.
For real estate investors, consider the current reality of decreasing land availability for developers in Toronto. Couple that with a projected 45 percent increase in population over the next 25 years and we have ourselves an extremely appealing investment opportunity.
In a low interest and low vacancy rate environment, the above demographic projections only become more striking.
According to a National Post article, there are more people living in the Toronto area than the entire province of British Columbia. Or, double the populations of all the maritime provinces.
Clearly people are flocking to Toronto, and we don’t blame them. Toronto is a world class city.
Matt Elkind, CoFounder CONNECT asset management