[URBAN NOTE] "Outpacing Toronto real estate, Durham may be the GTA's hottest market"

[rfmcdonald]

CBC News' Trevor Dunn reports from suburban Toronto.

When Mike Minelli decided to move his growing family from a downtown Toronto condo to Durham region, he was expecting a little relief from the city's red hot real estate market.

Instead, he found himself in a competitive market where, over the past year, the average price of a home has increased 14 percent more than in Toronto.

"It's unbelievable," Minelli said in an interview.

"In one minute, my wife and I decided to offer $40,000 more," he said of the first house they tried to purchase in Durham, which attracted 13 offers.

"We lost that one."

According to a new report from Royal Lepage, the strongest growth in Greater Toronto Area real estate prices over the past year is happening outside of Toronto.