This Week | Thursday, March 10,2022 durhamregion.com | 10 Put a lid on litter! Made from recycled tires, the Blue Box lid will keep recyclable material from blowing out of your blue box. Available for $13 each at the following locations: Waste Management Centre 4600 Garrard Rd. N. Whitby Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Clarington Household Special Waste Depot 1998 Bowmanville Ave., Bowmanville Tuesday to Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you require this information in an accessible format, please contact 1-800-667-5671. durham.ca/waste Durham home prices have risen a staggering 500 per cent in the past 25 years, a recently released report documents. A report from Re/Max released on Feb. 23 looked at price increases over the past 25 years in the GTA and found that Durham Region had the second highest increase after York Region. The price of an average home in Durham rose from $152,353 in 1996 to $926,000 in 2021, representing an almost 508 per cent increase. In York Region, prices rose 875 per cent to nearly $1.3 million on average in 2021. The GTA average was 453 per cent, with the average house selling for just over $1 million. Earlier this month, Ontario released recommendations from its Housing Affordability Taskforce aimed at increasing the supply of housing in Ontario. Meredith Kennedy, president of the Durham Region Association of Realtors, is a local real estate agent with 14 years of experience. She believes skyrocketing housing prices are fueled by a lack of supply and says action is needed. "It all has to do with a housing shortage; there's not enough houses for everybody," she said. "It does drive prices up, because there's such a demand for housing. Lack of supply creates competition and prices sky rocket." In January, the average selling price for a home in Durham was $1.175 million-, with the average detached home selling for $1.3 million. No municipality in Durham had an average home price under a million dollars. The average townhouse in Whitby, Uxbridge, Ajax and Pickering also topped $1 million, with the average condo in Durham selling for more than $600,000. That makes it tough for people trying to get into the market. "It is difficult," said Kennedy. "I'm working with first-time buyers looking in Clarington right now; it's very difficult when bidding against 20 or 30 people to stay within your price range." She adds that a townhouse in Clarington is more than $900,000 in today's market. As a result, buyers are looking beyond the GTA for affordability but still finding challenges. "I work a lot in Peterborough and Lindsay as well, and prices have absolutely skyrocketed there as well, making it more difficult for first-time buyers to get something that's comfortable and affordable for them." Kennedy also sees investment interest in housing. "Over the past year, I have definitely had people who are wanting to buy investment priorities, I think because interest rates have been low, it's made it more attractive," she said. DRAR issued a statement supporting recommendations from Ontario's Housing Affordability Taskforce, which call for the construction of 1.5 million new homes over the next decade as well as recommendations to reduce red tape in the municipal approval process, allowing for timely building permits to be issued. The organization also supports intensification in built-up areas, meaning more housing in existing urban areas as well as ending zoning rules that restrict modifications to existing homes to create secondary suites, garden suites and laneway houses. Still, Kennedy has questions about whether Ontario can keep up with the demand. "My concern is if we are needing a million homes now, I don't know that 1.5 million is going to be enough in 10 years if that's the plan," she said. DURHAM HOME PRICES UP 500-PLUS PER CENT IN 25 YEARS REKA SZEKELY rszekely@ durhamregion.com NEWS IN 1996, THE AVERAGE HOME IN DURHAM SOLD FOR $150,000