Though the real estate market is known to fluctuate, over time home prices generally trend upwards – which is good news for homeowners. In most cases, the longer it’s been since purchasing your home, the more its value tends to increase. The exact amount of equity you’ve built in your home will vary depending on whether you have any loans or outstanding mortgage payments, but it is largely dependent on the home’s current market value.

To find out exactly how much equity a benchmark-priced home has built in the past 5 years, Zoocasa analyzed data from 15 major Canadian markets and calculated the estimated equity built on a home bought at the composite benchmark price, a detached home, a townhouse, and a condo in each city in July 2018. 

Ontario Home Values Skyrocketed

During the pandemic, home prices surged in suburbs as homebuyers searched for an escape from tight, city living. As a result, homes bought in 2018 in smaller cities such as Kitchener-Waterloo, London & St. Thomas, and Ottawa experienced a dramatic increase in value. A Kitchener-Waterloo home bought at the July 2018 composite benchmark price of $455,800 is now worth $765,000 – that’s $309,200 built in equity. A benchmark-priced home bought at the same time in London & St. Thomas increased its value by $272,000 in July 2023. 

Edmonton, which had a similar July 2018 benchmark price as London & St. Thomas at $355,300, didn’t experience equal growth in equity. The built equity of an Edmonton home bought in July 2018 at the benchmark price is only $19,800 – the lowest on our list for composite benchmark homes. 

Metropolitan areas like Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto also saw home values increase, though the value of Greater Toronto homes increased significantly more than Greater Vancouver. A GTA home bought at the July 2018 benchmark price of $759,500 is now worth $1,161,200 – an increase of $401,700 and the largest increase in value on our list. A home bought at the July 2018 benchmark price in Greater Vancouver, however, increased in value by $197,600. 

Majority of Detached Homes Increased in Value by More than $150,000

As detached homes are the most expensive property type, it comes as no surprise that the value of most detached homes increased by a significant amount. Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver took the top spots for having the most equity built for a detached home bought in July 2018 at the benchmark price, with both increasing in value by over $400,000.

Despite the Prairies experiencing substantial price growth during the past few years, with the exception of Calgary, detached homes bought in the Prairies have increased in value by under $100,000, with Edmonton and Regina detached homes building the smallest amount of equity at $28,100 and $32,500 respectively. 

Kitchener-Waterloo Comes Out on Top for Townhouses and Condos

Nearly every property type in every city built thousands of dollars in equity over the past five years, however, only two property types decreased in value from July 2018 to July 2023: Regina townhouses and Edmonton condos. A Regina townhouse bought at the July 2018 benchmark price of $237,400 decreased in value by $600, while an Edmonton condo bought at the July 2018 benchmark price of $207,900 decreased in value by $27,300. 

Kitchener-Waterloo is the standout city when it comes to townhouses and condos. A Kitchener-Waterloo townhouse bought at the July 2018 benchmark price of $338,800 increased in value by $309,900 – the largest increase on our list, surpassing Hamilton-Burlington, Greater Vancouver and even the GTA. Kitchener-Waterloo condos also built a significant amount of equity, increasing in value by $221,000. 

Zoocasa (Mackenzie Scibetta, Sept. 5, 2023)