How much do homes cost next to the best schools in Toronto?

There are a few things that drive home buyers to double (or triple) their commute times, expand their budgets or even consider moving houses in the first place. Living next to a top school is the number one driver.

With so much attention paid to schools, it’s no wonder why buying in the best school districts has long been a rule of thumb in real estate and for families with children.

With that in mind, we looked at the highest ranking public schools across the GTA, as rated by the Fraser Institute, and calculated home prices within each of their boundaries.

A total of 3,770 elementary and secondary schools across the province were ranked by the Fraser Institute, with each school being rated out of 10 based on a variety of academic indicators from reading, writing, math test performance and more.

Toronto is the only city in the GTA to have public schools that scored a perfect 10/10 in the study.

Best schools in Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill is home to the GTA’s best ranked public high school (and Ontario’s second best) – Bayview Secondary School.

Best schools in Mississauga

Detached homes within the boundaries of four of Mississauga’s best public schools sold below $760,000 – the city average.

Best schools in Markham

Overall, detached homes next to Markham’s best schools sold for below the city average. The same goes for condo apartments.

Best schools in Oakville

Condos next to Oakville’s top schools sold for an average of $69,000 less than the city average.

Best schools across the GTA

Homes within the boundaries of Earl A Fairman Public School in Whitby are the most affordable of those mentioned in this article. Despite the fact that Earl A Fariman garnered a 9.1/10 rating, detached homes in the area sold for an average $396,205 – 84 percent less than the GTA average.

The second best school in terms of affordability is Mountview Junior Public School in Hamilton, as detached homes within eligible distance from the school sold for $475,708. The school received an 8.2 rating by the Fraser Institute.

Conclusion

House hunters across the GTA can, on average, expect to a pay premium of around $267,000 (36%) for detached homes that fall within the boundaries of the metropolitan’s best school districts.

In the same vein, semi-detached homes next to the best schools cost an average of $100,000 (20%) more expensive than the GTA average, while the gap for townhomes hovers around $147,000 (34%).

Condos however are unique, even when they are next to the top performing schools, they largely sold on par with the GTA average. That’s good news for families who are opting for a condo lifestyle over a traditional single family home.

When delving deeper and looking at the results on a city by city basis, the numbers become far more revealing.

As we anticipated, Toronto saw the largest price gap between average city house prices versus those next to the best public schools, at more than $200,000 for single family houses. In contrast, the price gap was far less pronounced in much of the suburban GTA – never crossing beyond 20%.

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