Vital Signs Data
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)
SDG 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing.
House prices
House prices
While home prices have generally reliably risen for nearly 20 years, there was a spike in rural home prices during the Covid-19 pandemic. Eastern Ontario regions averaged 32.4% in median home price increases from 2020-2021. While Toronto averaged ~18%, Northumberland County was 44%, City of Kawartha Lakes was 60%, and Prince Edward County averaged 79%. (CREA)
PEC median after-tax household income increased by only 43% from 2010 to 2023, while median house sales prices increased by 206% in the same timeframe.
Factors affecting house prices and inventory
Second-home sales are likely responsible for most of the increase in house prices and rents since the start of the pandemic. Prince Edward County’s housing market has felt the impact of increased homeowner demand with people from areas surrounding Toronto purchasing local properties where they can work remotely and live more affordably.
Roughly 75,000 people left Toronto and Montreal – Canada’s two biggest cities and main COVID-19 hot spots – for other parts of their respective provinces of Ontario and Quebec in the year up to July 2020, the largest such migration since at least 2001. (Reuters.com Red-hot and rural: Canadian towns grapple with big-city-like real estate boom, May 13, 2021)
For Prince Edward County, the in-migration from large urban areas helped drive house prices up 78.5% (April 2020 to April 2021), putting ownership out of reach for many local residents, especially first-time home buyers. This is creating a large divide between those that owned a house 5-10 years ago and those that didn’t. A good job isn’t enough anymore to promise home ownership.
Low borrowing costs intended to stimulate the locked-down economy, also increased property buyers’ budgets. As many invested in real estate, the most vulnerable found themselves struggling to make rent and mortgage payments.
Although the market will stabilize with interest rates there is no expectation that the current value of homes will drop. In some municipalities the value will continue to increase due to predicted migration from larger centres. (KPMG 2022)
New housing developments on the horizon
Imminent construction, pending availability of water and sewer capacity. (County of Prince Edward, Building Unit Count August 2024)
| Years | No of Units | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-2032 | 4,199 | Half are shovel-ready; 6 developments include affordable housing allocations from 5% to 100% of the units |
| 2033-2043 | 4,564 |
Sources
Median house sales prices 2010 to 2021 in Prince Edward County, Belleville and Quinte West were provided by Quinte & District Association of REALTORS®.
Median house sales price in 2023 is via Central Lakes Association of Realtors.
Prince Edward County - housing and planning
The median after-tax household income estimate in 2023 is via Environics Analytics (custom request).
The median after-tax household income 2010 to 2021 is based on Prince Edward County census and 2011 National Household Survey.
Statistics Canada. 2022. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa.
Statistics Canada. 2017. Prince Edward County, [Census subdivision], Ontario and Ontario [Province] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa.
Statistics Canada. 2012. Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-310-XWE2011004. Ottawa, Ontario. Analytical products, 2011 Census.
