Diverse range of homes available in Canada for $770K

Canadian real estate markets exhibit significant disparities in terms of what a prospective home owner can reliably purchase for a given sum

Diverse range of homes available in Canada for $770K
In a recent analysis of MLS systems in multiple markets nationwide, CBC News provided an overview of what $770,000—the average price of a Toronto home—can buy in major Canadian cities. As a yardstick, this amount can purchase a heritage income property, with two floors, three suites, and a two-car garage, in Toronto.

“[When] it comes to the Vancouver and Toronto markets, finding a single detached home becomes far more difficult. While prices in Vancouver have dropped 19 per cent over the past year, the average price is still the highest in Canada at $878,000, and that includes condos,” the analysis emphasized.

“A check of the Multiple Listing Service found not a single detached home in the City of Vancouver that fell into our price range. There are some in nearby communities such as Surrey, but if you want to be in Vancouver, close to downtown, you'll be looking at a condo.”

In Regina, $749,900 can net a comparatively luxurious 2,602-square-foot two-storey house in a new subdivision, fully furnished with three bedrooms, three baths, a den, and a custom cherry wood kitchen.

Going very slightly above the budget, $779,900 will be enough to purchase a 2,221-square-foot two-storey custom-built home in Winnipeg, boasting of a landscaped yard, a walkout basement with a built-in theatre, four bedrooms, and four bathrooms.

Atlantic Canada markets fared better than their peers. In Halifax, $775,000 would yield a 2,800-square-foot estate designed by renowned architect Andrew Cobb nearly a century ago. “It has five bedrooms and three bathrooms, and sits on a large lot in a historic neighbourhood near Dalhousie University. It features the original hardwood floors and moldings, a sunroom and a sun deck.”

And in Stratford in Prince Edward Island, $738,880 provides relative luxury, especially compared to Toronto and Vancouver: The indicated sum can purchase a 4,000-plus-square-foot home that comes with five bedrooms and four bathrooms, along with “nine-foot-ceilings, a theatre/media room downstairs, a wraparound covered veranda and a four-car garage.”