Buyer guide
Upsizing Your Home
Kirby Chan, Broker, explains how growing families can approach upsizing by thinking through timing, financing, neighbourhood choice and long-term needs.
Key takeaways
- Upsizing is about more than extra space
- Think through timing, financing and neighbourhood choice
- Coordinate the move around long-term lifestyle needs
About this video
Upsizing your home is about more than getting extra space. Kirby Chan, Broker, of Kirby Chan & Co. Real Estate Team walks growing families through the decisions involved.
He covers timing, financing, neighbourhood choice and long-term lifestyle needs. He also explains why coordinating the move properly supports a more confident decision.
The price gap is only part of the cost
Most people moving up think in terms of the difference between the two prices. In Toronto the real figure is larger.
Take a move from a $900,000 townhouse to a $1,400,000 house, an example with round numbers. The gap is $500,000. On top of it, the purchase carries $24,475 in Ontario land transfer tax and another $24,475 in Toronto municipal land transfer tax, $48,950 together. There is no first-time buyer rebate on a second purchase. Add legal fees on two transactions, the commission on the sale and any work the new home needs.
How a change in prices affects the gap
If both homes change in value by the same percentage, the dearer one moves by more dollars. A 10% rise adds $140,000 to a $1,400,000 house and $90,000 to a $900,000 townhouse, so the gap widens by $50,000. A fall narrows it by the same logic. That is arithmetic, not a forecast and it is one input among many.
Our guide to moving up in Toronto covers the full cost, bridge financing and the timing of two closings and the land transfer tax calculator runs both taxes on any price.
Not advice. This video and these notes are general information only. Nothing here is legal, tax, mortgage or investment advice.
Market data. Any figures mentioned reflect the period stated at the time of recording and may be out of date. Always confirm current figures before acting.
