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Real Estate News

Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?

What kind of property will $850,000 net you this spring? Three different neighbourhoods tell three different stories

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Toronto, Real Estate, Price Check, Oakridge: facade

This April, the average GTA home was selling for $1.15 million—about eight per cent less than last year’s runaway prices. And yet, the average home remains well beyond the means of the average Torontonian. A recent Zoocasa report found that the annual income required to buy a home in this city is about $168,000, nearly double the current median household income. So what does a below-market-average home look like? Here are three different two-bedrooms in three different neighbourhoods that recently sold for less than $850,000.

Related: A brick fortress in North York, a skinny two-storey in the Beaches or a modernist box in Etobicoke?


Greenwood-Coxwell: a Federal-style throwback

Sold for: $735,000 Listing price: $739,000 Date sold: April 25, 2023 Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Size: 900 square feet Maintenance fees: $524 a month

In early February, this two-bedroom condo townhouse was listed for just under $750,000. Located in one of the east end’s most family-friendly neighbourhoods, the place is a short walk from Woodbine Beach and plenty of parks. However, it came with monthly maintenance fees of more than $500. Plus, the market was cold in the winter, so the listing sat with no takers for a month. The sellers decided to wait until mid-April to list the place again and dropped their ask by $11,000. This time, it only took a week before a buyer snagged it for $735,000—a deal at $4,000 below asking.

Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?

Islington: a three-storey brick box

Sold for: $700,000 Listing price: $699,800 Date sold: April 28, 2023 Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 Size: 700 square feet Maintenance fees: $262 a month

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First put up for sale back in December, this three-storey, two-bedroom condo townhouse in Etobicoke near Islington station was initially listed at $730,000. Though similarly priced to the Greenwood-Coxwell townhouse, this one has a few more downsides—it’s far from the core and roughly 200 square feet smaller. On the plus side: its $262 monthly maintenance fees are around half the cost. But that wasn’t enough of a draw for buyers, and the home languished for the entire winter. Eventually, the sellers dropped their ask to $699,800, closer to market value. That course correction did the trick, and it sold for $700,000 in late April.

Related: What does $1.5 million get you? Three neighbourhoods offer three wildly different properties

Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?

Oakridge: a semi with a backyard

Sold for: $830,000 Listing price: $699,000 Date sold: April 20, 2023 Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Size: roughly 1,000 square feet Maintenance fees: N/A

In mid-April, this two-bedroom semi in Scarborough was listed at $699,000. There are some key differences between it and the townhouses above: no maintenance fees and a couple hundred extra square feet of living space. Other perks include 11-foot-ceilings and a backyard, plus it’s just a short walk to the Danforth and the Bluffs. Buyers took notice, and the home was on the market for only nine days before it was purchased for $830,000—nearly triple the $300,000 it had sold for in 2015 and more than $130,000 over asking.

Toronto, Real Estate, Price Check, Oakridge: facade
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?
Price Check: A stately east-end throwback, a townhouse in Etobicoke or a bungalow by the Bluffs?

Are you an agent with tips for house hunters? Send your story to realestate@torontolife.com

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Ali Amad is a Palestinian-Canadian journalist based in Toronto. His work has appeared in publications including Toronto Life, Maclean’s, Vice, Reader’s Digest and the Walrus, often exploring themes of identity, social justice and the immigrant experience.

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