Oakville has always been among the favoured destinations of home buyers who are moving up the ladder with growing families. A lot of its cachet comes from its reputation as a relatively affluent community thanks to its history as a lakeside retreat for moneyed folk during the first half of the 20th century.
The scale of that affluence can still be seen in the highly prized, grand mansions — built by shipbuilding, railroad and steelmaking magnates — that still stand along the Lake Ontario waterfront.
As Oakville transformed from a retreat community into a Toronto suburb, developers of new subdivisions north of the Queen Elizabeth Way were more than happy to seize on the town's pretensions to wealth and comfort. And buyers were more than happy to bank on the resale premium that came with Oakville's reputation.
As the 2000s dawned, Oakville residents and politicians became a formidable force in attempting to curb new housing developments, particularly north of Dundas Street. The movement was driven by a desire to protect the conservation areas surrounding Sixteen Mile and Bronte creeks. But it also was concerned that the scale and style of developments planned for the area would make Oakville appear — like some other 905 suburbs — close to bursting at the seams, and that was not acceptable.
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More recently, the city has become an unlikely hotbed of condominium development aimed at local residents looking to downsize from their current detached homes.
So far in 2008, Oakville is one of the few submarkets in which prices for new detached homes have fallen. The average price for such a home in the first five months of the year was still a princely $710,761, but that was down 5 per cent from $748,174 in the same period of 2007, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
But that's still a huge premium compared with the average price of a new detached home in Halton Region, which was $552,853.
The number of sales of new low-rise homes in Oakville is also down in the January-to-May period, to 292, according to RealNet Canada Inc. That's a 48-per-cent drop from 565 in the first five months of 2007.
This puts Oakville in second place for sales in Halton Region, behind Milton, which has a multitude of low-rise projects under way. (RealNet low-rise data also include sales of semi-detached and freehold townhouses.)
There are a few large-scale detached developments on greenfield sites under way in Oakville, mostly on the west side of town in close proximity to picturesque Bronte Creek. Elsewhere, there are a handful of smaller-scale detached projects where developers have taken advantage of infill opportunities in existing residential neighbourhoods.
The common thread in all these new low-rise projects is they are generally a cut above what you might find in more affordable pockets of Halton Region in terms of price, exterior finishes and size.
The Bronte Creek project near Bronte Road and Dundas Street West is one of the large-scale communities under way. It is being co-developed by Branthaven Homes, Monarch Homes and Fernbrook Homes.
Monarch has been actively building there since 2003, and still has a good selection of detached houses — including some bungalows with lofts — on 36-, 46-ƒ|and 56-foot-wide lots. They range from $465,000 for 1,956 square feet to $728,000 for 3,735 square feet. Approximately 50 of these lots are still available.
Branthaven's Bronte Creek offerings go from $503,000 for 2,100 square feet to $546,000 for 2,915 square feet. Models reflect a more rural flavour than those by Monarch, which evoke the feeling of French chateaus.
Fernbrook's contribution to the development features more modest exteriors but a lot more square footage; nine homes on 46-foot-wide lots range from $689,000 to $811,000 for between 3,346 and 3,849 square feet.
Developments on the scale of Bronte Creek are likely going to face more competition from more intimate projects such as Heritage Estates by Dawn Victoria Homes. It's also off Bronte Road but closer to the lakeshore beside Queen Elizabeth Park.
Only 25 lots were released there, and five — with 50- and 60-foot widths — remain for sale. Prices range from $713,000 to $757,000 for between 2,131 and 3,504 square feet.
