The Most Expensive Neighbourhoods in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area
While living in Toronto, Canada’s biggest city and the Greater Toronto Area depending on where you are living can be affordable. However, the City of Toronto has had the dubious honour of having been recognized as being one of the most expensive cities in the world. This has happened with the increasing growth in the real estate market in the Greater Toronto Area, with increases in home prices and rent prices over the past few years. Other cities on this list include Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, and New York City.
While the majority of people probably cannot afford to live in these tony enclaves in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), there are probably some of us who are fascinated by how and where the uber-rich are living and would have a glimpse into their lives and what it is like. If this is you, someone interested in such things or you are looking to find that neighbourhood where you will fit in if you are one of the select few who can afford to live there, this guide is for you!
The following is a list of the City of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area’s most expensive neighbourhoods ranked in no particular order. This list is from the most expensive neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto based on data from the Toronto Real Estate Board’s published sale prices for detached homes during 2018. While all of these neighbourhoods are absurdly or painfully expensive depending on who you ask, this list is in no way ranking them in order of most expensive to least expensive of the poshest neighbourhoods in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Finally, for the purposes of this article, a neighbourhood is being defined as a district, specifically one that forms a community with a town, municipality, or city.
The most expensive neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto
Rosedale-Moore Park (Toronto)
While Rosedale might not be as affluent as some of the other neighbourhoods on this list, but it is still one of Toronto’s toniest enclaves located in the center of the city. This is where some of Toronto’s elite, hockey players, professionals, and where you can find some of Toronto’s old money people live since the Victorian homes in this neighbourhood were originally built for established Ontario families.
Rosedale is a beautiful, centrally located neighbourhood with tree-lined streets filled with homes built in varying architectural styles from arts and crafts style homes to stately homes, and urban mansions that is extremely well-located with easy access to downtown, transportation on the TTC, shopping, plenty of parks and green spaces, excellent public and private schools, and excellent restaurants. While the ravines, parks, and green spaces in this neighbourhood make you feel like you are no longer in a major city.
While Rosedale’s beauty and amenities make it a great place to live, it’s location, which includes one of the City of Toronto’s major crossroads/intersections Yonge Street and Bloor Street, and Mount Pleasant Road runs through here. Rosedale has excellent proximity to many places in the City of Toronto, you are halfway to Danforth and Yorkville, halfway to the Financial District, Yonge, and Eglinton. While Rosedale has many single-family detached homes, there are also condos here as well.
Rosedale itself is not a large neighbourhood and its boundaries are as follows: the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to the north tracks, Yonge Street in the west, Bloor Street to the south, with Bayview Avenue and the Moore Park Ravine forming the eastern border. Rosedale is located within the City of Toronto’s Rosedale-Moore Park neighbourhood. The Park Drive Ravine serves to divide Rosedale into two sections, a north section, and a south section.
Forest Hill (South)
Forest Hill is known as being one of Toronto’s most expensive and prestigious neighbourhoods. Fun fact, Drake reportedly owns property in Forest Hill South so it is no surprise that this is also one of the most prestigious and expensive neighbourhoods in Toronto. The amount of mansions found here in Forest Hill is only rivalled by Rosedale. Forest Hill has many amenities, but it also has two schools, Upper Canada College (All-boys private school) and Bishop Strachan School (All-girls private school) that are recognized as two of being Canada’s best schools. While Forest Hill is filled with wealthy people and amenities, such as excellent schools, excellent restaurants, the Forest Hill village which has independent boutiques, parks, large and small, rolling hills, and plenty of green space, and it is only a few kilometres from Downtown Toronto.
Related articles: The Best High Schools in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
The Bridle Path
The Bridle Path is a particularly luxurious and unique neighbourhood within Toronto on the Don River Valley, which is also known as “Millionaires Row” or “Billionaires Row”. You might be reading this and wondering what exactly makes Bridle Path so unique? Well, most of the homes here are built on 2 acres, in the middle of the City of Toronto, homes that are built to resemble family estates with gates and walls in the middle of Toronto surrounded by greenery. The Bridle Path was designed by a man who loved horses and horseback riding, with the idea that people who had private homes here could enjoy large roads with ample space for riding. The Bridle Path is located 30 minutes from Downtown Toronto walking distance the Edwards Gardens, some of Toronto’s beautiful Botanical Gardens. There is even a 9-kilometre walking trail that goes from The Bridle Path to Sunnybrook.
While you may be reading this and imagining a certain type of person that lives here, this neighbourhood tends to attract a lot of wealthy international buyers from places such as China, Iran, and Russia, and entrepreneurs looking for privacy and seclusion in a beautiful setting with close proximity to Downtown Toronto, making it a multicultural neighbourhood.
Sunnybrook (Toronto)
Sunnybrook is another large wealthy neighbourhood that borders Bridle Path and York Mills. Sunnybrook is an extremely family-friendly neighbourhood that is known for its cul-de-sacs and crescent-shaped streets instead of the grid of streets you will find in other neighbourhoods. They have a wide variety of facilities for people of ages, such as schools, community centers, and retirement homes. Sunnybrook has a well-regarded research hospital, the Sunnybrook Research Institute and the Don Mills, an outdoor shopping center with many parks, hiking, and walking trails.
Yorkville (Toronto)
Yorkville is one of Toronto’s most dynamic and elegant neighbourhoods known for its eclectic mix of houses, restaurants, condos, boutiques, and more. While during the 1960s it was a hippie hangout, it has changed over the decades becoming a high-end neighbourhood known for its hotels. Theatres, restaurants, and designer stores. Yorkville is well connected to Downtown Toronto by buses, roads, and the subway, so you can easily zip into Downtown for work and return home to your home on a quiet tree-lined residential street with Victorian homes. It is an enviable address to have, in a neighbourhood with a lot of cachets.
Lawrence Park (North)
Lawrence Park is another posh neighbourhood located in northern Toronto, it’s well-considered design means that schools and commercial areas are on the periphery of the community so there is little traffic on residential streets making it easier for people to enjoy the rolling hills and serene landscapes here. Many of the houses here were built sometime during the 1910s and the 1940s and have remained and been restored to their classic glory. There are also gardens, parks, and a country club in this neighbourhood.
York Mills
While York Mills was originally named for the grist mills in the area, York Mills is no longer a blue-collar community. York Mills has earned the distinction of being one of, if not the most affluent communities in Ontario and maybe all of Canada. This community has been built around nature and residents are keen on maintaining the nature, scenery, and greenery here, so you will see this. York Mills is known for having an excellent shopping mall with restaurants, food shops, a winery, and other specialty retail offerings. While Yorkville is far enough away from Toronto to feel secluded and that you are escaping the city, but you are only 20 minutes away from Toronto and all of the restaurants, nightlife, and cultural offerings in Toronto.
Hoggs Hollow
Hogg’s Hollow is known as being an exclusive community in the Don River Valley, it is filled with tree-lined crescent streets, cul-de-sacs, and an old stone bridge traversing the Don River which help to create a picturesque, tranquil environment. The houses here are quite distinct built during the 1920s through the 1960s, were built in a variety of styles in such a way to combine Colonial, Tudor, and the English Cottage styles.
Yonge-St. Clair
Yonge-St. Clair is a pretty quiet, residential neighbourhood situated south of Toronto’s midtown, consisting of single-family and multi-unit buildings. Yonge Street has retail, while St. Clair avenue boasts retail and community services. The feel of this neighbourhood has been likened to Manhattan’s Upper East Side, as a place where you can raise a family with excellent transit, including the St. Clair streetcar, bus service, and subway access.
The most expensive neighbourhoods in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville, a Toronto suburb, situated on the Lake Ontario offers picturesque harbour views and a vibrant downtown waterfront. Residents and visitors (Oakville welcomes over a million visitors a year) alike can spend time perusing boutiques, galleries, wellness centres, gourmet food stores, and dining at gourmet restaurants. Oakville’s vibrant downtown also offers excellent art and cultural district, making Oakville, the place to be for people wanting to be social. While Oakville has many attractions for visitors and residents, they also have a number of beaches and parks, as well as opportunities for bird-watching, biking, boating, and fishing, so you will never experience a dull moment here!
Lorne Park, Mississauga, Ontario
Lorne Park is a residential community located in Mississauga. It is known as being an affluent family-friendly community with relatively new homes that were built on large properties. Lorne Park is known for having some of the best schools in Mississauga, so anyone looking to ensure that their child or children will receive an excellent education heads to Mississauga. Lorne Park is also a great place for people who enjoy the outdoors since you can go walk, hike, and/or do some bird-watching at the Rattray Marsh Conservation Center. After this, you can head down the road to the Port Credit Village, where you can enjoy craft beers and fine dining, shop in some of the boutiques here or charter a boat. The Port Credit village also hosts many local events and festivals.
Markham, York, Ontario
Markham is known for being a multicultural and welcoming community with nearly three-quarters of the population here consisting of minorities. While Markham is an ethnically and culturally diverse, it is also the “High-Tech Capital of Canada” which makes sense when you learn that Apple, IBM, Toshiba, AT&T, American Express Canada, and Honda Canada all have their Canadian corporate offices here in Markham.
While Markham has a lot to offer for those of us who are more technologically inclined, there is plenty of shopping here, weekend farmer’s markets to antique stores, to popular retailers and malls. The Pacific Mall, is a large indoor Chinese shopping mall where you experience fine dining options, enjoy herbal teas and learn about herbal remedies.
Kleinburg, Vaughan, Ontario
Kleinburg is a quaint country community situated on the Humbert River in the municipality of Vaughan. Kleinburg offers a comfortable and pleasant place to enjoy the tranquillity and serenity you enjoy living by the river. It is a unique place with pretty streets and neighbourhoods that are charming unlike anywhere else. It is a strong community with many festivals and events happening in the community. While the streets downtown are filled galleries, restaurants, boutiques and more. Kleinburg is also home to the world-renowned McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
Conclusion
While those who live in these wealthy enclaves in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) enjoy many amenities such as excellent schools, green space, excellent restaurants, and more, this does not mean this out of reach for you. Things change and you do not have to live in these neighbourhoods to take advantage of some of their public amenities such as their hiking, walking, and biking trails, eat at the restaurants here, shop at the boutiques, etc. If you really want to taste how the residents in these neighbourhoods live you can always visit these neighbourhoods and see for yourself whether or not you believe these homes and neighbourhoods are worth the high cost of living.