Buying or selling a home in Toronto

Toronto at a glance

The 2021 Census counted 2,794,356 people in the City of Toronto. The City groups them into 158 neighbourhoods for its planning profiles. It is Canada’s largest city, and most of its new housing is now going up, not out.

Of Toronto’s 1,160,890 occupied private dwellings in 2021, almost half were in high-rise apartment buildings. Between 2016 and 2021, high-rise apartments added 49,350 occupied dwellings, while single-detached houses added 815.

The Toronto market, September 2026

These are TRREB’s Market Watch figures for the City of Toronto. The city-wide numbers: 1,937 sales, 6,521 new listings, 9,865 active listings, 4.6 months of inventory, an average sale-to-list ratio of 99% and 33 days on market on average.

Condo apartments were 884 of the 1,937 sales. That is why Toronto’s median sits far below its average: half of all homes sold for $810,000 or less, but a smaller number of expensive detached homes pull the average up.

Source: TRREB Market Watch, September 2026. Year-to-date to September 2026, the City of Toronto recorded 17,470 sales at an average of $1,041,416.

Districts and neighbourhoods

TRREB divides the city into three districts. Each behaves differently, and the gap between them is often bigger than the gap between Toronto and the suburbs.

• Toronto West covers Etobicoke and the west end. It mixes post-war bungalows and side-splits on larger lots, older semis and row houses closer to downtown, and newer condos near the lake and transit.
• Toronto Central covers downtown, midtown and the Yonge corridor through North York. Most of the city’s condo towers are here, alongside some of its most expensive detached streets, which is why its average is high and its median low.
• Toronto East covers East York and Scarborough and the east end. Detached bungalows and back-splits on generous lots are common, and in September 2026 homes here sold above list on average.

I helped buyers purchase a detached bungalow on a 40 by 125 foot lot on Pharmacy Avenue in Clairlea-Birchmount for $765,000, $34,000 under its $799,000 asking price. See the deal.

Toronto’s two land transfer taxes

Every buyer in Ontario pays the provincial land transfer tax. In the City of Toronto, you also pay the municipal land transfer tax (MLTT). Up to $3 million the two use identical rates, so the total is double what you would pay in Brampton, Mississauga or Oakville.

How the rates work: both taxes charge 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1% to $250,000, 1.5% to $400,000 and 2% to $2 million. Above $2 million, Ontario charges 2.5% on homes with one or two single-family residences. Toronto charges 2.5% from $2 million to $3 million. From 1 April 2026, it then charges 4.40% to $4 million, 5.45% to $5 million, 6.50% to $10 million, 7.55% to $20 million and 8.60% above that.

First-time buyers can claim a refund of up to $4,000 from Ontario and a rebate of up to $4,475 from Toronto, if they qualify. Your lawyer usually claims both on closing. Calculate all your closing costs.

General information, not tax or legal advice. Your real estate lawyer confirms the exact tax and your eligibility for refunds.

Transit and commuting

The TTC runs the subway, streetcar and bus network inside the city. GO Transit trains run from Union Station to the suburbs on several lines. The Kitchener line connects Brampton to Union through Malton, Etobicoke North, Weston, Mount Dennis and Bloor, and the Lakeshore West line runs along the lake through Mississauga and Oakville.

For a buyer, the practical question is the door-to-door trip at the hour you travel. I check the walk to the nearest station and the parking situation as part of every serious showing. Service levels change, so confirm schedules on gotransit.com and ttc.ca.

Schools

Toronto has four publicly funded school boards. Each sets its own school boundaries and programs, such as French immersion.

• Toronto District School Board (English public)
• Toronto Catholic District School Board (English Catholic)
• Conseil scolaire Viamonde (French public)
• Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (French Catholic)

I do not rank schools. If a school matters to you, confirm with the board that the address falls in its boundary, and whether the school has space, before you make an offer.

Checks before you offer in Toronto

• For a condo: the status certificate, reserve fund study, monthly fees, special assessments, parking and locker ownership. Your lawyer reviews it, ideally as a condition.
• For an older house: electrical (including any knob-and-tube wiring), the main drain, basement water history, the roof and the furnace age. Book a home inspection.
• For a basement apartment: whether it is a legal second unit, and the tenancy rules if it is rented. See legal basement properties.
• For a property near a ravine or a heritage street: extra permissions may be needed for additions or tree removal. Ask the City before you plan renovations.
• Total cost: land transfer taxes, legal fees, title insurance and moving. Toronto’s double tax is the item most buyers underestimate.
• Comparable sales on the same street or in the same building in the last three to six months.

How I help Toronto buyers and sellers

Buyers

I start from your budget after both land transfer taxes, then shortlist homes against recent comparable sales, not asking prices. For condos, I get the documents early. On offer night, your walk-away number is set before we write anything. The buying process, multiple offers and first-time buyers.

Sellers

Pricing comes from the comparable sales in your pocket of the city, adjusted for condition and lot. Then preparation, marketing that reaches every buyer through the MLS® System, and a clear offer strategy. How I sell a home and what your home is worth.

Moving out of Toronto

Many of my clients sell a Toronto condo or semi to buy more space in Brampton, Caledon or Oakville. I plan both sides on one timeline. Buying and selling at the same time.

Start your own search on my home search, which shows every Toronto listing on the MLS® System, or compare with Brampton, Mississauga and Oakville.

Questions about buying and selling in Toronto

Sources

• TRREB Market Watch, September 2026 (City of Toronto and district tables)
• City of Toronto: 2021 Census backgrounder, age and type of dwelling
• City of Toronto: neighbourhood profiles (158 neighbourhoods)
• City of Toronto: MLTT rates and fees
• Ontario.ca: calculating land transfer tax and refunds for first-time homebuyers
• GO Transit: Lakeshore West and system map and Kitchener line schedule
• Ontario: find a school board