Canada's Condominium Magazine
What are the most expensive neighborhoods in Toronto? Which show the best potential for growth? Which are the best values? How much has each neighborhood grown in per square foot pricing from 2016 to 2016 by resales? One of the best ways to compare relative resale value is average price per square foot by neighbourhood — which removes the variable of overall unit size from average price.
Average pricing by the square foot
Location remains the main factor in value for all types of homes, especially for condominiums. Yet average total prices for condominiums by the nieghbourhood are not necessarily the best way to compare. After location, size is usually (not always) the main pricing factor. The only fair way to compare average pricing neighbourhood to neighbourhood is square foot averages.  Also extrapolated below are the average unit sizes, which also varies by neighborhood.
Average condo prices are helpful of course, but the real starting comparable should be square foot average prices. (Starting comparable, because there are many other important factors.) Still, this is the least biased way to compare neighborhood values or community values, even if it doesn’t consider proximity to transit stops or amenities and finishes. It strips out the biggest cost factor after location — namely, size.
The price per square foot average, of course, will be higher in more desirable neighborhoods, with close access to transit or other neighbourhood characteristics in demand by buyers. Drilling down into smaller and smaller sub-neighborhoods reveal additional value-point niches.
Comparing 2016 and 2017
Condos prices continued to rise in most neighbourhoods, even after the summer slow-down triggered by Ontario’s Fair Housing Act. Comparing 2016 and 2017 average prices per square foot shows substantial price increase — and may be an indicator of which neighbourhoods potentially increase the fastest. After all, your home is one of your biggest investments.
Demographics indicate that the growth potential for the Greater Toronto Area will not likely be long dampened by government measures designed to modulate markets. With that in mind, the price trends should continue, especially given narrower and narrower inventories.
In 2017, Toronto resale averages (rounded):
- Downtown Toronto: $801 per square foot
- Bay Street: $801 per square foot
- Waterfront areas: $804 per square foot
- Church-Yonge: $784 per square foot
- Willowdale (East): $676 per square foot
- Mimico: $608 per square foot
- Islington Centre: $532 per square foot
- Overall Toronto $629 per square foot
 Main data source TREB for resale values. Estimate of per square foot analysis source>>