Toronto Real Estate – A World Class City Is Still Surprisingly Affordable

Real Estate in Toronto

First Published Date : April 24, 2010

In a study done in 2010 by the Economist to find the most liveable cities in the world, Toronto ranked in at number four, joining Calgary and Vancouver as the three Canadian cities in the top 10. Toronto joined places like Sidney, Australia and Vienna as places where it is great to live. However, unlike most of the cities on the list, Toronto is not far out of the reach of many individuals. Vancouver is one of the most expensive places in the world to live, but Toronto still has real estate, in prime places like downtown and North York, that is affordable. This means that you can live in a world class city, without having to go into deep debt in order to pay for your new home.

Buying a condo in New York or Paris will cost you a small fortune, but you can get the same type of condo, with an amazing view, in a world-class city like Toronto, for as much as you would pay for a home in the country. That is amazing to think about because you can live in what many consider to be the premier city of Canada (although Vancouver is close on the list) for a decent price.

As of January 2010, Toronto had an average home price of $409,000, only $18,000 more than Calgary but a whopping $229,000 below the highest priced city in Canada; Vancouver.

In terms of the entire world, Toronto has a comparable amount of services, culture and population to many of the greatest cities on the planet, but it ranks 31st in terms of the most expensive cities to live in. So, you have a city that ranks fourth in terms of being the best place on Earth to live, but 31st in terms of price. That is an amazing combination that you should take advantage of if you are going to move anywhere in Canada.

One big plus for Toronto is its surging real estate market. Toronto has out-performed nearly every Canadian city, and most of the American cities, in terms of real estate market recovery. Since April 2008, the average home sales have gone up over 100 percent a month for several months in a row. This not only shows that Toronto is a popular place to live, but that it is weathering the storm of the economic crisis that swept around the world quite nicely.

In terms of neighbourhoods, where you live will depend on how much you end up paying. The most popular neighbourhood in Toronto is Riverdale, which comes with an average home price of just $480,000, quite reasonable for where you are within the city. Riverdale is considered to be one of the trendiest and most artful neighbourhoods in all of Toronto. This just shows how you can get a home in one of the best, if not the best neighbourhood in Toronto, without having to pay more than $500,000. Riverdale itself features several art galleries, film studios and some beautiful homes that are built in the style of Georgian and Victorian architectural style.

Now, if you want to live in what may be the most beautiful part of Toronto, as well as one of the hottest areas for real estate, then you could think about The Beaches. Sitting on the shores of Lake Ontario, you get a lake view property in within the limits of Canada’s biggest city. That is pretty amazing, especially considering that the property price within this area is only around $571,921, more expensive than Riverdale but very reasonable considering the high-class style of this neighbourhood. The beaches has a very colourful history with its residents, which have included from time to time Academy-award winning director Norman Jewison, pianist Glenn Gould, Miley Cyrus, John Candy, Keanu Reeves, Kiefer and Donald Sutherland, as well as Alex Trebek. It is like living in an affordable Beverly Hills within a beautiful city.

The most expensive area of Toronto to live is Leaside, which is where many local celebrities live, and the home prices in this area fall around $650,000. That may seem expensive but it is important to remember that this high price is only slightly higher than the average price of homes in Vancouver. Try buying prime real estate in Paris, London or New York for only $650,000. You will be lucky to get a condo in a rough neighbourhood for that price anywhere but Toronto!

Toronto is a beautiful city to live in. In Toronto, what many call the Center of the Universe, you can live in a world class city for prices that you will not find anywhere. Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Vancouver, London, or Paris would never be affordable to the tune of $650,000 in the best neighbourhood in the city. The argument may be made that it’s cheap because it is not a good place to live, but then explain how Toronto can rank fourth in the world for the best places to live? A young family can buy a home in the best neighbourhoods of Toronto, while at the same time being in an area where there are plenty of services, cultural hotspots and more.

If you are going to buy a home in Toronto, look to some of the neighbourhoods that we have mentioned here. They are the best neighbourhoods in the city, yet highly affordable. They feature everything you could want, including some amazing people who call the neighbourhoods home. Not to mention the beautiful homes, the history and the views you get in these neighbourhoods are a bargain at the price you are paying. Anywhere else in the world and you would be paying over $1 million for the homes you get in Toronto for half of that.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Apr 24, 2010.