Real Estate in Toronto

Some of you might be curious about Real Estate in Toronto and I thought I could share some of my recent knowledge with you.

There are 4 types of housing units in our city:
- Apartment Condominium (0-3 bedrooms) $150,000 to $2,000,000
- Apartment Loft Condo (2 story apartments) $ 200,000 to $2,000,000
- Townhouse Condo (2, 3 story houses that are attached) $ 250,000 to $2,000,000
- detached house (1,2 story house with a large lot) $300,000 to $10,000,000

All condos pay maintenance fees from $200 to $800 per month depending on the facilities that they have (parking, pool, gym, golf course, etc)

In my neighborhood, nice part of downtown, property is very expensive. Based on my research, a tiny 1-bdrm apartment is about $300,000 and up. A 2-bdrm, which we would like, is $350,000 and up. A house, well, you are looking at $ 1,000,000 I think. There is public transportation, cabs, little cute shops and boutique around every corner, best restaurants on your doorstep and you only need to walk to find a drycleaner or grocery store. The city is never sleep and you feel safe walking 3 o'clock in the morning, just by yourself.

In North York (20 min north of here) where the majority of Iranians live, prices are slightly lower. You can find a 2-bdrm apartment for $250,000 and up. There are shops and grocery stores, but I am sure you can guess the disadvantages!

Slightly farther from downtown, 1.5 hours to the north, east or west, things get better. Lots are bigger and you can find a very nice house for $300,000. In some areas, there are lots of green space, natural parks and with $500,000 you can own a mansion.

However, in such areas, to go grocery shopping, you need to drive for at least 30 min. If you have kids, you need to drive them to school and your own drive to work could be longer than 2 hours. The suburbs go to sleep right after dark and you cannot find a 24hr pharmacy or grocery store even if you drive for 30 minutes.

What is ideal? Well, it is different for every individual and family.

For a couple with no children, usually an apartment condo or townhouse is ideal and if you are like me, you are not a big fan of a long drive (in traffic jam) to work.