The GTA neighbourhoods where you can still get a house for under $1 million

Toronto may still be one of the least affordable places in the world for real estate, but the city's market has softened quite remarkably in the last year or so.

Even if the price declines have been most notable in the condo segment — which has plummeted from its investor-driven heyday — the sheer abundance of available listings at the moment has given buyers far more choice.

Price points have been pretty stubbornly stagnant overall considering the lack of activity, but there has still been room for many would-be homeowners to haggle properties down, and a number of neighbourhoods in the region where the average cost of even a house, not a condo, is now falling below the crucial $1 million mark.

Homes are still selling for far under asking price in the vast majority of the Toronto areahttps://t.co/vLNpN8eLpz

— blogTO (@blogTO) January 10, 2025

Wahi, which hosts listings along with offering regular insights on the market, has just released a list of these pockets, giving an idea of where Toronto area residents looking to fulfill their dream of home ownership on as small of a budget as possible should look.

The cheapest community within the GTA's bounds presently (based on the average price of a single-family home last month) is Central Oshawa, which admittedly may not have the best reputation, but is where you can nab a single-family home for around $655,000 — less than the typical condo in not just downtown Toronto, but the region generally.

Also in the top three are Eastdale-Donevan and Windfields, both likewise in Oshawa, with median sold prices of $760,000 and $782,500, respectively, for a house.

Comparatively, a detached home anywhere in the GTA will run you approximately $1,377,430, per January 2025's figures, while the standard semi-detached house is now $1,047,728. In the 416, these average prices jump to $1,579,386 and $1,154,505.

Wahi also notes that out of over 400 neighbourhoods assessed, only 53 had single-family homes sell for under $1 million at all and that the majority of prospective buyers, per their surveys, would prefer a house to a condo (64 per cent).

One type of Toronto property still in hot demand amid troubled market https://t.co/hmnxFBg8h7

— blogTO (@blogTO) January 26, 2025

For those wondering where else one can still get a (relative) deal on a house of their own, here is the full list, which predictably does not include any locales in Toronto proper:

1. Central Oshawa: median sold price: $655,000
2. Eastdale-Donevan, Oshawa: median sold price: $760,000
3. Windfields Oshawa: median sold price:$782,500
4. Downtown Ajax: median sold price: $789,000
5. McLaughlin, Oshawa: median sold price: $790,000
6. Neighbourhood of Georgina: median sold price: $800,000
7. Central Park Brampton: median sold price: $805,000
8. Uptown Ajax: median sold price: $819,900
9. Brampton North: median sold price: $820,000
10. Centennial, Oshawa: median sold price: $845,000