These Are the GTA’s Waterfront Neighbourhoods With the Highest and Lowest Home Prices

Oakville is home to some of the Greater Toronto Area’s priciest waterfront neighbourhoods, while downtown Toronto boasts some of the region’s most affordable.

By Josh Sherman | 3 minute read

As summer approaches, Wahi analyzes prices in the Greater Toronto Area’s waterfront neighbourhoods.

Waterfront real estate listings are making a big splash in the Greater Toronto Area housing market.

In some GTA neighbourhoods, sale prices for waterfront listings are upwards of $300,000 higher than they are for non-waterfront listings, suggests the latest analysis from digital real estate platform Wahi.

In fact, in eight GTA neighbourhoods last year, homes with listing descriptions that mentioned the term “waterfront” changed hands for more than $100,000 over those that did not.

Keep in mind that when a listing for a home includes the keyword “waterfront,” it doesn’t necessarily mean the property line is directly on the water. Rather, it could denote a home with waterfront views, such as a condo in downtown Toronto, or a single-family home that is proximate to the waterfront, excluding rivers or ponds.

“Conventional real estate wisdom suggests that all else equal, waterfront homes command a premium compared to non-waterfront properties,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen. “For the right waterfront property, some buyers may be prepared to pay much more than they would for a comparable non-waterfront home. However, keep in mind that many factors, from overall market conditions to the individual attributes of a home, influence pricing.”

The biggest positive price difference between waterfront and non-waterfront listings was observed in Roseland, a Halton region neighbourhood just northeast of Hamilton Harbour on Lake Ontario. In this shoreline community, the median sale price for properties with “waterfront” in the listing was $1,618,750 — $353,750 more than listings that did not mention the attribute.

Birch Cliff, a Toronto neighbourhood straddling the Scarborough Bluffs, trailed with a median waterfront sale price of $1,369,000, which is $303,500 higher than the non-waterfront median. 

For the purposes of Wahi’s analysis, a waterfront neighbourhood either borders a larger body of water or is close enough to likely provide a scenic view.

Lakeside neighbourhoods in Halton region dominated in terms of setting the highest watermark for prices. Halton communities accounted for four of top five most expensive waterfront neighbourhoods, with Eastlake leading the charge.

In Eastlake, the median sale price of a waterfront listing was $2,700,000, compared to $2,650,000 for a non-waterfront listing. In 2024, Eastlake was the neighbourhood to most consistently appear on Wahi’s monthly roundup of top underbidding neighbourhoods.

According to a previous Wahi report, one reason homes were often selling below asking in Eastlake may have to do with the prevalence of newer custom homes. Unlike a home in a subdivision, where many similar listings could be found, it is more difficult to find comparables for a custom home when a REALTOR® is setting the list price. Sellers may test the water with a higher price and agree to sell for less, depending on the offers.

Birch Cliff — which also had the largest price gap between waterfront and non-waterfront listings — was the only entry in the top five located outside of Halton.

The five least expensive neighbourhoods for waterfront listings in the GTA were all located in an area of downtown Toronto known for having many high-rise condo units overlooking the Harbourfront area. The median waterfront prices in these neighbourhoods ranged from $632,000 up to $655,000. In all but one case, the median sale price for listings with the term “waterfront” was actually less than those without it. This is likely a reflection of specific unit qualities, such as bedroom count or finishes, or building attributes, including maintenance fees.

Methodology:

Neighbourhoods with fewer than five waterfront and five non-waterfront sold listings in 2024 were excluded from the analysis. About 75 of the Greater Toronto Area’s approximately 400 neighbourhoods met this threshold. Note that a listing may contain the term waterfront and not necessarily be directly on the water. Wahi excluded some neighbourhoods where listings mentioned “waterfront” but were not on Lake Ontario, such as Westminster-Branson, a suburban North York neighbourhood, which is on the Don River. The analysis does not take into account the attributes of each home. A waterfront listing could have a higher price than a non-waterfront listing for a variety of reasons, including larger square footage, recent renovations, a separate apartment on the property, and more.