Relocating to Toronto and Buying a Home: Your First Year

Who this guide is for

Many people who move to Toronto rent for years. This guide is for households who expect to buy, on arrival or after a year here. The first section applies to everyone.

Two deadlines in the first weeks

Health coverage. Ontario states that there is no longer a waiting period for OHIP and that eligible applicants have immediate coverage. You do not wait out 153 days before applying. You apply in person at a ServiceOntario centre with a completed registration form and three separate original documents: one for citizenship or OHIP-eligible immigration status, one for Ontario residency and one for identity.

Eligibility has continuing conditions. You need to be physically in Ontario for 153 days in any 12 month period and for at least 153 of your first 183 days here. Ontario must also be your primary residence. You also need one additional status, such as citizenship, permanent residence or full-time work in Ontario on a valid work permit for at least six months.

Driving. A valid licence from another province, state or country can be used for 60 days after you move. After that you need an Ontario licence.

Licences from Canadian provinces, U.S. states and a listed set of countries can be exchanged. From July 1, 2026, drivers from other countries can get credit for up to one year of experience with their original licence and an official authentication letter from the issuing government in English or French. Arrange that letter before you leave.

Renting first or buying on arrival

For households that do not know Toronto, we usually suggest renting for a year before buying. The reasons are specific to this city.

Toronto covers a large area and its neighbourhoods do not blend into one another. A street of detached houses and a block of condo towers can sit a short walk apart. Daily travel depends heavily on which subway or light rail line is nearby. That only becomes clear once you have lived the commute.

Renting has costs: a second move and whatever prices do while you wait. If you arrive with a fixed workplace, a clear budget and a firm idea of the housing you need, buying on arrival is a reasonable decision.

How Toronto’s neighbourhoods actually differ

Price differences between areas are mostly about what is being sold. The City’s 2021 Census profiles show the share of homes in apartment buildings of five or more storeys. TRREB’s community medians for April to June 2026 track that mix.

Area	Median sale price, Q2 2026 (TRREB)	Homes in 5+ storey apartments, 2021 Census
Waterfront Communities C1	$610,000	99.5 percent (Harbourfront-CityPlace)
Bayview Village	$622,500	66.7 percent
Banbury-Don Mills	$853,000	52.6 percent
Annex	$1,240,000	54.5 percent
The Beaches	$1,600,000	7.6 percent
Leaside	$1,850,000	8.0 percent (Leaside-Bennington)
Lawrence Park South	$2,550,000	18.3 percent

TRREB’s community boundaries and the City’s profile areas are not identical, so the two columns are a guide to character rather than an exact match. The pattern is clear enough: mostly condo areas post low medians and mostly house areas post high ones. Compare like property types rather than community names.

Citywide, TRREB’s August 2026 figures put the median at $550,000 for condo apartments, $981,000 for semi-detached houses and $1,170,000 for detached houses. Our neighbourhood guides cover twelve areas in detail and the Toronto map shows where they sit.

Getting around on the TTC

Where you live relative to rapid transit shapes your week more than almost anything else. The network, as the TTC names its lines:

• Line 1 Yonge University runs north and south through the centre and serves Union Station.
• Line 2 Bloor Danforth crosses the city east to west.
• Line 4 Sheppard runs east from Sheppard-Yonge along Sheppard Avenue.
• Line 5 Eglinton began service on February 8, 2026. It is 19 kilometres of light rail along Eglinton Avenue from Mount Dennis to Kennedy, with an interchange at Eglinton Station on Line 1.
• Line 6 Finch West opened on December 7, 2025, running between Humber College and Finch West.

Line 5 changed the options for several established areas. Leaside now has Leaside and Laird stations on Eglinton Avenue East. Don Mills Road has Don Valley Station. Elsewhere, the Annex sits on both Line 1 and Line 2 at Spadina and St George, Willowdale is on Line 1 at North York Centre and Finch, Bayview Village is on Line 4 and the Beaches rely on the 501 Queen streetcar. Our post on subway commutes by neighbourhood and the page on neighbourhoods for commuters go further.

The tax picture when you buy

Two land transfer taxes. Ontario charges land transfer tax across the province. The City of Toronto charges its own municipal land transfer tax on property in the city, on top of the provincial tax. On a $770,000 purchase each is $11,875, so the total is $23,750. Toronto’s municipal tax does not apply to purchases in Markham, Mississauga or Vaughan. See Toronto vs Markham, Toronto vs Mississauga and Toronto vs Vaughan if you are weighing a nearby city.

First-time buyer rebates. Ontario refunds up to $4,000 and Toronto rebates up to $4,475 for eligible first-time buyers. Both require citizenship or permanent residence, which can be gained up to 18 months after the transfer. The buyer must also occupy the home within nine months. Our first-time buyers guide sets out the other conditions.

Non-resident taxes. A buyer who is not a citizen or permanent resident pays Ontario’s 25 percent non-resident speculation tax and, in Toronto, the City’s 10 percent municipal version on certain residential properties. A lawyer should review your situation before any offer.

Property tax and the Vacant Home Tax. The 2026 residential rate in Toronto totals 0.767311 percent of assessed value. That is $767.31 per $100,000 of assessment. Every owner must also declare the home’s occupancy each year. A home left empty for six months or more of a year, for example while a family is still abroad, can be charged the Vacant Home Tax at 3 percent of assessed value. Our post on Toronto property tax explains the bill.

Schools

In Ontario the home address determines which school a child is assigned to. Confirm the boundary with the board, in writing if you can, for the exact address before you buy. Boundaries change and a listing is not a reliable source for them.

A first year, in order

1. Apply for OHIP in person as soon as you arrive.
2. Exchange or replace your driving licence within 60 days, with your driving history documents ready.
3. Rent somewhere with good transit so you can explore easily.
4. Register children with the board that serves your rental address.
5. Try your likely commutes from two or three candidate areas at rush hour.
6. Line up mortgage preapproval once your income can be documented here, using our mortgage calculator as a first estimate.
7. Buy once you know which area fits, not because a calendar says so.

We help buyers moving from other provinces and other countries. The team works in ten languages, so the conversation can happen in the one you think in. A first read on areas, costs and timing is free and carries no obligation.