A big problem here Bill is that prices rose dramatically in Toronto, which then led to people selling their houses there and moving out into this rural area for a quieter lifestyle, surrounded by lakes. If they needed to commute for five or six years, then they were happy to do that. That simply increased the house prices here.
COVID came along, and people thought they would always continue to work from home, so there was another exodus and prices rose even more............and then more. For those who they were called back, now couldn't afford to move back to the city.
With that came a scarcity and now anything advertised always sells a couple of hundred thousand above asking price........with NO conditions. If you have conditions, you may as well not even submit an offer.
The old option of 'fixer uppers' is not on the table for the younger generation, the purchase prices are just too much to make it viable.
These days it's not just the purchase market that is unaffordable, rental properties are seriously in demand, because there just aren't any.
We own a second investment home and rent it out for a fair rent and occasionally we'll get a moan from the tenant. When I get that, I feel like telling him to find somewhere else, because I know he'll be paying at least $800/month more and we'd have no problem whatsoever finding new tenants. They would be lined up for it.
It's a sad situation, because at present the younger generation have zero chance of getting onto the ladder without substantial support from elsewhere. My son will inherit the house we presently live in, but hopefully I've got perhaps 15/20 years in me, so what does he do until then?