Who'd have ever thought, before the pandemic hit, that real estate in the 905 would one day be hotter than it is in Toronto?

As crazy as the thought would have seemed even one year ago, here we are, in a market that's beenflipped on its headand across the entire GTA — in some cases to the great benefit of people who purchased homes in the suburbs prior to COVID.

A new piece of analysis from thehigh tech real estate brokerage Properlyshows that people who bought homes in suburban areas of the GTA during the six-month period leading up to the health crisis have seen their investments increase far beyond their counterparts in the city.

That's not to say that prices have decreased anywhere in the region. On the contrary, they'veincreased literally everywherethanks to arush of demandamidsupply shortages— just at a much faster rate in some pockets of the GTA than others.

Using data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, analysts from Properly broke down how much home values have increased in different GTA regions since the pandemic hit. Table viaProperly

Homebuyers who secured places in the City of Toronto between September of 2019 and February of 2020 have seen their investments appreciate, on average, by roughly 16 per cent, based on current home values for April of 2021 sourced through TRREB and calculated usingProperly's new "Instant Estimate" tool.

Conversely, those who bought homes in other parts of the GTA over the same period of time have seen real estate values shoot up by an average of 30 per cent.

The greatest gains wereseen in Oshawa, where home values rose a staggering 48 per cent in just over a year. Georgina and Brock both also saw surges, with home prices increasing by an average of 46 per cent in each market.

"Meanwhile, regions in closer proximity to Toronto, such as Vaughan (21%), Markham (22%), and Richmond Hill (22%), have seen weaker — but still impressive — appreciation," notesProperly.

Oshawa, Brock and Georgina have seen the highest home value spikes in the GTA since COVID-19 hit, but every region gained to some extent. Table viaProperly

To see it all laid out in a map, as the platform has conveniently done (see above), a clear pattern seems to emerge: The farther from downtown Toronto a suburb in the GTA is, the faster its home values have risen over the time period surveyed.

"Based on the continued realities of working from home and the desire for more space, people are relocating out of Toronto to the suburbs," notes Properly.

This urban exodus phenomenon has been blamed lately for price spikesall over the countryand far beyond the GTA as young office workersflee their tiny downtown Toronto condosin search ofcheaper, larger homes.

It's a trend that's expected to continue for a while,if polls are any indication, which should be good news (financially speaking) for current homeowners in small towns and cities who can sit back andwatch their real estate investments soarto new and unexpected heights.