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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 12 ,2 02 0 | 4 The solution to COVID-19 is right in front of your nose. •Wear a face covering. • Keep 2m apart from anyone outside of your household. • Limit your close contact to your household only. •Wash your hands often. Stopping the spread starts with you. Visit ontario.ca/coronavirus to learn more Paid for by the Government of Ontario more houses selling in multiple offers," Ray Chesher, realtor in Halton Hills with Your Home Real- ty Inc. and HeyRay.ca, said. Chesher estimated three out of four houses sold in Halton Hills this year received multiple of- fers. "There are people in apartments who were thinking of buying in the next two years, but be- cause of COVID-19 have moved their plans ahead," he said. With good access to funding and low interest rates, for many buyers, de- spite the pandemic, the time was right to purchase a home. "The federal govern- ment saved the real estate market in March," Chesher said. "Once COVID-19 hit, a lot of people were laid off or had reduced hours. For anyone who was approved for a mortgage at that point, banks or mortgage lenders would have pulled their funding or commit- ment letters." Instead, the govern- ment of Canada guaran- teed those mortgages, even if job loss had occurred. "That propped up the re- al estate market through the time frame," Chesher said. Now, with cash in hand, buyers still face the chal- lenge of finding affordable homes. Halton Hills remains an attractive market for To- ronto-area buyers, Chesh- er said, due to lot sizes and access to the city. In Georgetown, average housing prices increased by 13.41 per cent in the last year as of September. Ac- cording to Halton Region's State of Housing Report, the average price of a new home in Halton Hills was $985,945 in 2019, while re- sale homes cost $755,660 on average. As of September 2020, the average price of a home in Halton, both new and resale, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board, was $941,200 in Hal- ton Hills. The average price of a home in Acton grew by 20.86 per cent dur- ing the same period. "The reason prices are going up is strictly a lack of inventory," Chesher said. "It's a long-term issue. In Ontario, we're not building enough housing for the de- mand." According to a draft of Halton Region's State of Housing Report for 2019, 164 new homes completed construction in 2019 in Hal- ton Hills, with 53 homes still under construction. In 2019, construction began on 18 additional homes in Halton Hills. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: As COVID-19 re- strictions continue to limit gatherings and promote social bubbles, buying or selling a home may be a challenge. With that said, we wanted to explore how the pandemic has affected housing sales in Halton Hills. NEWS Continued from page 1 HALTON HILLS REMAINS ATTRACTIVE TO BUYERS "The reason prices are going up is strictly a lack of inventory," - realtor Ray Chesher The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Halton Region continues to reach new heights. Data from the Halton Region Public Health from Oct. 30 to Nov. 4 show 250 new active cases, with 42 cases being resolved. The majority of cases in the region were report- ed in Oakville, with 126, and Milton, with 88. Just over half of cases reported during the week were women. The majority of infec- tions were in residents from ages 40 to 59, with 102 new cases; 88 residents were between the ages of 20 to 39; and 59 cases for people age 19 and under. For people 60 years of age and older, there were 43 new cases. Oakville and Milton had the greatest amount of new cases. New cases were attributed to outbreak (26 cases), con- tact (105 cases) and com- munity spread (60) were the leading cause of trans- mission. As of Nov. 5, the num- ber of confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in the region stands at 2,411 since the beginning of the pandemic, with 2046 resolved cases and 36 fa- talities. WEEKLY ROUNDUP: COVID-19 CASES CONTINUE TO CLIMB BRYAN MYERS bmyers@metroland.com