Demand for high-rise Toronto condos has taken a hit during the pandemic, with tightly-packed urban living not quite as desirable as it was in the before times. Changes to what people want out of a home have fostered an exodus to suburban locales.

Still, most of us have our feet firmly planted in the city, looking to the range of urban housing options like townhouses that offer a bit more space for social distancing than slender glass towers with lengthy elevator rides.

New data from condo listing site Strata highlights a handful of Toronto neighbourhoods with the cheapest townhouses around, though the word cheap is relative at best. Average townhouse prices in the city crept up to about $730,000 in August, or roughly $640 per square foot (PSF), as many seek out alternatives to condo units.

“Townhomes provide at least some separation of space between work and personal life, since many of them are spread out over two or three floors,” says Strata.ca realtor Galina Sheveleva.

There are two main options for townhouses in the city; freehold towns and condominium ownership. These two types of towns come with some pretty significant price differences.

A gap in average price between condominium and freehold towns is looking more like a gulf, with freehold towns selling prices averaging at around $367,000 more than condo townhouses.

Even with these significant differences in average price, a few pockets of the city still offer comparatively low prices for condominium townhouses, including a few in up-and-coming areas with new and coming transit links.

Without further ado, here are five Toronto neighbourhoods where townhouse prices are still relatively low.

Westminster-Branson

Average price: $708,000

Centred around the Bathurst and Finch intersection, the Westminster-Branson area of North York offers easy access to major arterials, with local treasures like G. Ross Lord Park

Mount Dennis

Average price: $641,000 

This up-and-coming neighbourhood will benefit from a new station on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT next year, and property values are likely to climb once the new line opens to commuter traffic. Easy access to highways is a big selling point for those less likely to take the train.

York University Heights

Average price: $591,500

This area already got its new subway station a few years back, but relatively low prices continue to attract buyers to the area. Still, neighbourhoods with even lower average prices exist, including one just around the corner from York U Heights.

Scarborough Village-Guildwood

Average price: $565,000 

These twinned neighbourhoods bisected by a stretch of Kingston Road are among the last places in the city where a townhouse can be bought for less than $500K, a bit below the area’s average price. The Eglinton GO station offers quick commutes into the heart of downtown, though there's much to see nearby like The Guild Inn Estate and the Bluffs.

Jane and Finch

Average price: $510,000

Surprising absolutely nobody, Jane and Finch is the cheapest area to buy a townhouse, though buying into the area could be a prudent investment, as the locale is seeing some of the highest appreciation rates in Toronto. At an average price of $510K, townhouse prices in the neighbourhood are about $220K below the city-wide average.