Urmi Desai in Top Ten Neighbourhoods, Home Buying
Wowza, it’s been much longer than intended since the last installment of our monthly Top Ten list that tells you what really want to know about Toronto neighbourhoods. To date, we’ve examined Best Schools for $500K and Most Walkable Neighbourhoods for $1M. The response to the first list was amazing; tumbleweed comes to mind when thinking about the second. So we (don’t) hear you loud and clear – you love the city, you get it, walkable is great, biking hooray, just how are you supposed to do it when you've got one to two kids and a budget of $500K? Here's how...
Realosophy Top Ten Neighbourhoods: 3-Bedroom Subway Access for $500K
Map: Zoom out if you have difficulties with map orientation. Click on green tab beside "Layers" to shrink box. Click on arrow beside "Legend" to expand legend. Click on any shaded neighbourhood above for details. Unshaded neighbourhoods do not meet criteria (see below).
This week, we look at neighbourhoods that offer a 3-bedroom lifestyle with subway access. The bonus? We’ve gone further to ensure that the neighbourhoods on our list offer walkable access to more than transit so your weekends can be as car-free as your commute to work. Interestingly enough, our data confirms what common sense tells us about home buying and trade-offs: not one neighbourhood on our Best Schools for $500K list makes it onto this list (which means it's less likely that you can get both the best schools and direct subway access/walkability for $500K).
Criteria: Only Toronto neighbourhoods with 3-bedroom houses or condos that sold for $500K or less in 2010, have direct access to a TTC subway station and ranked high on walkability need apply. Walkability is calculated by Walk Score (learn about methodology here).
Ranking: Neighbourhoods are ranked first by walkability and then sales volume (measured by the number of 3-bedroom units that sold in 2010 for $500K or less). This tells you which neighbourhoods have the criteria you want and what your chances of getting into the neighbourhood are (likelihood is a feature unique to Realosophy's proprietary Neighbourhood Match tool).
1. Willowdale (Central) See Profile
Your likelihood of getting a 3-Bedroom for $500K or less: Good (84 sold in 2010)
2. Dovercourt Park (Central) See Profile
Your likelihood of getting a 3-Bedroom for $500K or less: Fair (42 sold in 2010)
3. East End Danforth (East) See Profile
Your likelihood of getting a 3-Bedroom for $500K or less: Excellent (165 sold in 2010)
4. Brockton Village (West) See Profile
Your likelihood of getting a 3-Bedroom for $500K or less: Fair (58 sold in 2010)
5. Scarborough Town Centre (East) See Profile
Your likelihood of getting a 3-Bedroom for $500K or less: Fair (65 sold in 2010)
6. Blake-Jones (East) See Profile
Your likelihood of getting a 3-Bedroom for $500K or less: Fair (41 sold in 2010)
7. Christie Pits (Central) See Profile
Your likelihood of getting a 3-Bedroom for $500K or less: Poor (22 sold in 2010)
8. Oakwood-Vaughn (Central) See Profile
Your likelihood of getting a 3-Bedroom for $500K or less: Excellent (140 sold in 2010)
9. Danforth Mosaic (East) See Profile
Your likelihood of getting a 3-Bedroom for $500K or less: Good (81 sold in 2010)
10. Riverdale (East) See Profile
Your likelihood of getting a 3-Bedroom for $500K or less: Fair (65 sold in 2010)
Urmi Desai is editor of the Move Smartly blog and is responsible for Realosophy’s strategy and marketing. Realosophy Realty Inc. Brokerage researches Toronto neighbourhoods to help our clients make smarter real estate decisions. Email Urmi