Last week, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) launched its Property Pulse Dashboard, a new free tool to help homeowners make informed decisions about their property and understand market trends over time.

“We are enhancing the information we provide property owners, allowing them to gain a better understanding of the residential market,” says Greg Martino, vice president and chief valuation and standards officer for MPAC.

“This new tool, along with our recent release of housing inventory data, has been designed with property owners in mind so they can learn more about the changes to the residential property market in communities across Ontario and therefore facilitate more informed decision-making.”

Features of the tool

Using Teranet Inc.’s sales data, the tool is updated monthly and includes the latest residential sales data by municipality and property type. It also offers a “compare” feature to analyze sales information across up to five municipalities simultaneously. Searches can be customized based on sales year/month, the year the property was built and its square footage.

How to access the new dashboard

Property owners can access the dashboard via AboutMyProperty under the Browse My Neighbourhood section. To log in or register, they will need their roll number and access code from their Property Assessment Notice.

With the spring market blossoming and interest rates stabilizing, opportunity for first-time homebuyers continues to grow. While purchasing a home can be an exciting time for a client, navigating the complexities of the market and homeownership is often overwhelming. The role you play as a trusted advisor is crucial, especially for those entering the market for the first time.

Understanding how a property is assessed is one way prospective (and current) homeowners can make informed decisions on purchasing or selling a home. Here are three things to know about residential assessed values to help inform your conversations with clients.

1. Why values matter 

For many Ontarians, the place they call home is more than just a dwelling. It’s an investment, a cornerstone of financial stability and often their single largest asset. It’s also where they make memories with family and friends and connect with their community.

Knowing the assessed value of a home is an important detail to help ensure a first-time buyer is making an informed decision. The assessment data available through MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation) offers insights into the local real estate market and can show how the home being purchased compares to others in the neighbourhood.

It can enhance decision-making efficiency and accessibility for real estate transactions and portfolio management. All realtors in Ontario have access to this assessment data along with other insights through propertyline.ca. This online platform allows users to access real-time property information for more than five million properties in Ontario and more than 10 million properties Canada-wide, making it easy to find complete profiles on a property, estimates of current real-time market values, maps and imagery that might be helpful for decision making. 

Understanding value can also help buyers anticipate and budget for tax obligations since property taxes are calculated based on assessed home values, at a tax rate based on what the municipality determines is needed to build and run a thriving community.

2. How residential properties are assessed in Ontario

There are more than 200 factors considered by MPAC when assessing the value of a property. The five key elements your clients should be aware of are: 

• Location. The neighborhood where a home is situated significantly influences its market value. The desirability of the area often plays a crucial role in determining how much a buyer is willing to pay.
• Lot size. The area of a property’s lot is calculated by multiplying the frontage by the depth.
• Total square footage of living area. The exterior of the home is measured to determine the total area of the building. This measurement excludes areas like the basement, deck, porch or garage.
• Building age. Property value is adjusted to reflect renovations or additions, considering the actual condition of the house rather than its original construction year.
• Construction quality. The type of building materials used and the quality of finishes also play a role in determining a property’s assessed value.

3. The difference between property assessments and property taxes

First-time home ownership comes with unique experiences, like navigating property assessment and taxes for the first time.  Property assessments are available to both homeowners and local governments. Municipalities use these assessments to calculate property taxes. 

When it comes to property taxes, each of Ontario’s 444 municipalities decides how much money is needed to build and operate thriving communities – for example, building a new recreation centre and indoor skating rink, maintaining the scenic trail that runs through the neighbourhood and funding essential fire and ambulance services. The municipality then determines the municipal tax rate and collects property taxes to pay for the municipal services.

By helping your clients navigate their home purchasing journey and understand the real-time information available, they’ll develop a deeper understanding of how Ontario’s 5.6 million properties are assessed. This will help you strengthen those business relationships. 

To access resources to inform your conversations, check out our Realtor Training on topics such as how data is collected, the factors affecting real property value and how to correctly calculate property taxes. The First-time Homeowner’s Hub has also been developed to help your clients unpack property assessment, taxes and other commonly asked questions.

The dream of owning an affordable home in Ontario is becoming increasingly challenging, according to new data released by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). 

Over the past decade, communities with homes priced under $500,000, and in some areas under $750,000, have significantly dwindled. This is shown in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA)’s $1.031 million median home value compared to the province’s $765,000 (as of December 2023), and it’s pushing buyers to explore options farther outside the GTHA.

“Looking across the province, our data shows increases in home values across Ontario — even in smaller communities outside the GTHA,” Greg Martino, vice president and chief valuation and standards officer for MPAC, notes.

“The reality is that current home prices are a reflection of various economic forces at play. Factors like supply and demand, increased construction and labour costs plus inflation are all part of what’s driving today’s house prices.”

First-time buyers have limited options

In 2013, 74 per cent of Ontario’s residential properties were valued at under $500,000. However, this proportion plummeted to 19 per cent in 2023 (mainly found in Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Sudbury, Windsor and Thunder Bay). Similarly, homes under $750,000, once abundant, now constitute only 48 per cent of the market (mainly found in Kitchener, Kingston, Ottawa, London, Barrie and Peterborough).

Large jumps in GTHA and Toronto condominium values

Condominium prices in the GTHA have soared, with about 11 per cent of units priced under $500,000 today, compared to 88 per cent in 2013. Similarly, in Toronto, less than 11 per cent of condos are now priced below $500,000, highlighting the shrinking affordability in the city.

Prices of other property types increasing at unprecedented rates

Semi-detached and townhomes, once considered affordable options, have also witnessed substantial price appreciation. The inventory of semi-detached homes priced under $750,000 has plummeted by 61 per cent, with only 33 per cent available in this range today. Similarly, townhomes have seen a 51 per cent decrease in inventory below $750,000.

In 2013, the median value of a detached home in Ontario was approximately $378,000. Today, it has surged to over $862,000, with 41 per cent of detached homes estimated to be worth more than $1 million province-wide.

In 2013, the median home value for a detached home in the province was nearly $378,000. Today, that number has increased by 128 per cent to over $862,000.

For more information, see MPAC’s housing inventory map.

Last month, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) released its annual assessment rolls to 444 Ontario municipalities, which showed a record-breaking year of $42 billion in property inventory growth province-wide.

Through property improvements and new construction, residential homes accounted for over $31 billion of this spike. Notably, since 2022, the new residential condominiums count increased by 85 per cent.

The assessed value of the province’s 5.6+ million properties is about $3.14 trillion.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering accurate assessments,” says Carmelo Lipsi, MPAC’s vice president of valuation & customer relations. “We look forward to continuing to provide valuable insights for property owners and municipalities on Ontario’s changing property inventory.”

Property values by municipality

10 municipalities accounted for over 44 per cent of new property value, with Toronto the highest at $9.93 billion (up from $8.7 billion in 2022). Ottawa followed at $3.37 billion (down from $4.4 billion), then Vaughan at $1.58 billion (up from $1.1 billion), Oakville at $1.55 billion (up from $1.1 billion) and Brampton at $1.35 billion (up from $974 million).

As for growth rates in municipalities with populations of under 15,000, the year’s largest overall growth was in Southwold (at $286.2 million), followed by Blue Mountains (at $166.7 million), Muskoka Lakes (at $152.3 million), Middlesex Centre (at $119.6 million) and Carleton Place (at $113.4 million).

MPAC reports that assessments for 2024’s property tax year will be based on January 1, 2016 assessed values and remain the same as the 2023 tax year unless changes have been made to the property.

View the 2023 Roll Return Fact Sheet for more information.