Category: The Tech Revolution: 1998–2020

In the ‘90s, Real Estate News was Toronto’s largest real estate publication, and was produced, marketed, printed and distributed weekly by the Toronto Star through a joint venture agreement with TRREB. Real Estate News comprised three weekly publications: Real Estate News GTA edition (with a circulation of approximately 100,000); Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate News (with a circulation of approximately 10,000); and Town & Country Real Estate News, published in Stratford and servicing Huron and Perth counties (with a circulation of approximately 5,000). Pictured here is a photo of Jerry England, TRREB Past President; and John Honderich, publisher of the Toronto Star from 1994 to 2004.

An aerial photograph of the Don Mills suburbs taken in 1992. 

Keeping Members informed about policy directions that may have an impact on the housing market is at the very heart of TRREB’s mission. At the same time, TRREB acts as the voice of REALTOR® Members on the street who know how policy changes will affect families and home ownership. Each year, TRREB releases its Market Year in Review and Outlook Report and provides briefings to elected and appointed officials at all levels of government. In 2018, the Market Year in Review and Economic Summit held in York Region was one of many events that drew politicians from all three levels of government where TRREB shared insights on solutions to the GTA’s housing challenges. 

Left to right: TRREB CEO John DiMichele, York Region CAO Bruce Macgregor, Richmond Hill Deputy Mayor Vito Spatafora, 2017/18 TRREB President Tim Syrianos, Environment Minister and Newmarket–Aurora MPP Chris Ballard, East Gwillimbury Mayor Virginia Hackson, and Aurora Mayor Geoffrey Dawe.

Housing affordability is a key TRREB objective and value. A rise in property assessments and taxes can make a difference in housing affordability, especially for first-time buyers, senior citizens, or people on fixed incomes. TRREB staff and volunteer Members work with city officials and the provincial and federal governments to reflect the concerns of existing homeowners, home sellers, buyers, landlords and tenants. Policy changes, such as land transfer taxes or stress tests for mortgages, factor directly into people’s ability to become homeowners. Still, people are taking the plunge. A Statistics Canada study on Toronto housing reported that 59 per cent of resettled refugee families were homeowners, not far off the 65 per cent rate for Canadian-born families.

Since its earliest days, TRREB has been keeping REALTORS® informed of the trends in Toronto region real estate. TRREB research staff generate accurate data on the number of sales and average home prices throughout the Greater Toronto Area. A couple who bought a home in Toronto in the 1970s could find that the average value of  Toronto homes had soared by the time of their retirement 40 years later. The average sale price jumped from $70,830 (1979) to $228,372 (1999) to $819,305 (2019). Of course, the TRREB market area changed over those years as well, so comparatives must be used with caution. Still, given the average returns, it would be hard to find many families who regretted buying a home in Toronto.