This is how many months of rent a condo down payment costs in Toronto (MAP)

It should come as no surprise that it’s damn expensive to live in Toronto.

In fact, the average one-bedroom condo rental in the city is currently $2,262 per month – an increase of 4.5% – in the third quarter of 2019, while the cost of a two-bedroom rose 4.2% to an average of $2,941, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.

So this raises the question: if you’re already forking out that much a month for rent, why not put it toward a down payment?

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For those considering purchasing a condo in the city, brokerage Zoocasa has created down payment savings timelines for over 30 neighbourhoods in the city.

To determine this, Zoocasa compared the average condo apartment lease rates with the sold prices for condos in 35 neighbourhoods within the ‘416’ region.

The study then calculated the minimum down payment required to purchase the average condo unit in each of the selected neighbourhoods in addition to the number of months of rent that would be equivalent to the down payment amount.

As a result, Zoocasa was able to break down exactly where in the city it would take the least and most amount of time to save for the required condo down payment if prospective home buyers had no other shelter costs, which is the average monthly total of all shelter expenses paid by households that own or rent their dwelling, according to StatCan.

According to the study, on average, it would cost 14.7 months of rent in Toronto to be able to afford a down payment — which means you probably should have started saving for your condo like yesterday.

However, there is a silver lining for those looking to enter into the homeownership market, as the study found that there are 13 neighbourhoods in Toronto where it would be possible to save for the necessary minimum condo down payment within 12 months.

That is if no rent is paid during that time period.

According to the study, the most affordable pockets are primarily located in both the eastern and western edges of the city and away from the downtown core.

This includes neighbourhoods such as West Hill, Centennial Scarborough, Malvern, Rouge, Black Creek, and Rexdale.

On the other hand, there are 19 neighbourhoods where it would take between 13 to 24 months, while there are three neighbourhoods where it would take over 25 months.

As you could imagine, the priciest neighbourhoods are mostly located throughout midtown, including North York, as well as in Rosedale-Moore Park, Yorkville, and York Mills.

These are the five neighbourhoods where the down payment savings timeline is the shortest:

1. West Hill, Centennial Scarborough

Average Condo Price: $325,223
Minimum Down Payment: $16,261
Average Monthly Lease Rate: $2,100
# of Rent-Free Months to Save Down Payment: 7.72

2. Malvern, Rouge

Average Condo Price: $372,163
Minimum Down Payment: $18,608
Average Monthly Lease Rate: $2,161
# of Rent-Free Months to Save Down Payment: 8.63

3. Willowridge-Martingrove-Richview

Average Condo Price: $429,451
Minimum Down Payment: $21,473
Average Monthly Lease Rate: $2,343
# of Rent-Free Months to Save Down Payment: 9.2

4. Rexdale-Kipling, West Humber-Clairville

Average Condo Price: $387,794
Minimum Down Payment: $19,390
Average Monthly Lease Rate: $2,045
# of Rent-Free Months to Save Down Payment: 9.5

5. Black Creek, York University Heights

Average Condo Price: $407,395
Minimum Down Payment: $20,370
Average Monthly Lease Rate: $2,131
# of Rent-Free Months to Save Down Payment: 9.6

Zoocasa

These are the five neighbourhoods where the down payment savings timeline is the longest:

1. Yorkville, Annex, Summerhill

Average Condo Price: $1,193,506
Minimum Down Payment: $238,701
Average Monthly Lease Rate: $3,212
# of Rent-Free Months to Save Down Payment: 74.3

2. Rosedale, Moore Park

Average Condo Price: $1,107,117
Minimum Down Payment: $221,423
Average Monthly Lease Rate: $3,309
# of Rent-Free Months to Save Down Payment: 66.9

3. Forest Hill, Oakwood Village

Average Condo Price: $961,755
Minimum Down Payment: $71,176
Average Monthly Lease Rate: $2,697
# of Rent-Free Months to Save Down Payment: 26.4

4. York Mills, Bridle Path, Hoggs Hollow

Average Condo Price: $910,883
Minimum Down Payment: $66,088
Average Monthly Lease Rate: $2,896
# of Rent-Free Months to Save Down Payment: 22.8

5. Stonegate-Queensway

Average Condo Price: $782,350
Minimum Down Payment: $53,235
Average Monthly Lease Rate: $2,379
# of Rent-Free Months to Save Down Payment: 22.4

You can find the full study here.

All average condo apartment sold prices and monthly lease rates for Q3 2019 were sourced from the Toronto Real Estate Board.