[CN Tower]

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/story.html?id=2461473

Meanwhile, other economic indicators are booming. The hot housing markets continues to defy logic, with numbers showing that the average price of a house in Toronto census metropolitan area increased 13% from November 2008 to 2009, to $418,502. Residential building permits in Toronto are up over the same period by 25%, while commercial permits are down 10%.

Prof. Strange said Toronto is behaving the way cities such as Amsterdam or London, England, did in the housing cycle. Prices started to dip before the recession hit, but they didn't bottom out as in some American cities, and then they flattened or they came back.

"It's hard to believe that if employment doesn't come back that those kind of price increases can continue," he said.

defy logic indeed...

 

[Admiral Beez]

I own my home in Cabbagetown, but work in Markham. I imagine that might be the future for downtowners who do not work for government, education, law or finance.

 

[Glen]

I own my home in Cabbagetown, but work in Markham. I imagine that might be the future for downtowners who do not work for government, education, law or finance.

This has certainly been the trend for a long time. The financial effects of this are often downplayed or ignored by the city.

 

[T.O.Fanatic]

I think that fact is the single most damaging thing for Toronto. We live here because we like to be able to use transit or our own two feet to get around. Having to work in Markham negates that entirely, it's a wasteland up there! I hope the next mayor can have a credible plan to deal with this.

 

[TrickyRicky]

I think it has a lot to do with demographic trends as well. Aside from the cost advantages I thiink a lot of businesses just get created where the people who are in the business generation or ownership time of their lives are located. I can almost guarantee you that many new businesses will be created in the next decade in areas where today's 20 and 30 something people end up settling. For my part (and I'm a business type guy who has no intention of ever being an employee again or viewing the world from an employee mindframe) I think you would have to make a fairly compelling case for me to consider setting up a business in Markham or some such. Not because it is a bad place, not because it doesn't make lots of sense. It's just that that is not where I envision my future.

 

[taal]

This isn't something specific to the Toronto area, lets not forget that. This is quite normal and happens throughout the world, the rate at which it is occurring may be what we need to talking about.

Areas around cities always grow from nothing and that always attracts particular types of employees ... software campuses for example, and a lot of others.

The fact we have a lot of people living in Toronto and working elsewhere is great actually, in most other regions people working elsewhere would live elsewhere as well.

Toronto needs to worry about attracting new employers and diversification. This isn't a competition, I like the fact smitherman pointed that out in his initial speech, whether he follows up on that is another question. The point is job growth in the 905 will for the next while occur at a larger rate then in Toronto it self ... this is fine / expected / and it would be strange if that wasn't the case. We need to ensure job growth occurs in Toronto as well, at a lower rate but nonetheless.