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Detached
Median Selling Price$680,000
Average Days on Market
52.36
#Active Listings (last 30 days)
433
#Sold Listings (last 30 days)
83
Semi-Detached
Median Selling Price$495,000
Average Days on Market
21
#Active Listings (last 30 days)
8
#Sold Listings (last 30 days)
1
Townhouse
Median Selling Price$610,000
Average Days on Market
59.14
#Active Listings (last 30 days)
20
#Sold Listings (last 30 days)
7
Condo
Median Selling Price$522,500
Average Days on Market
50.33
#Active Listings (last 30 days)
44
#Sold Listings (last 30 days)
6
If you’re looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and make cottage country living your full-time reality, look no further than Kawartha Lakes. The City of Kawartha Lakes is largely rural and is the second-largest municipality by land area. It is located roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes northeast of Toronto, just past Lake Simcoe. Given the name, it likely won’t come as a surprise that the area encompasses many lakes. These include Balsam Lake, Cameron Lake, Sturgeon Lake, Canal Lake, and Mitchell Lake, among others. The area’s claim to fame is the fact that the entire Kawartha Lakes municipality is made up of over 250 lakes! If you like the serenity of relaxing on a dock or enjoy boating, swimming, fishing, and water sports, Kawartha Lakes is the place for you. Beyond the region’s many waterways, Kawartha Lakes also boasts plenty of green space for those who prefer hiking and camping, with lots of parks and conservation areas nearby including Windy Ridge Conservation Area, Ken Reid Conservation Area, and Pigeon River Conservation Area. Thus, you can rest assured that you will be treated to breathtaking scenery no matter where you live in Kawartha Lakes. However, the region is more than just natural beauty. It also has a charming and quaint downtown with plenty of shops, restaurants, cafes, and a historic main street. Other perks of living in Kawartha Lakes include a slower pace of living than the city, which many people of all ages enjoy. Then there is the affordable housing market and spacious homes, as well as the extremely low crime rate, both of which are very appealing to families and seniors. Finally, you have the fact that Kawartha Lakes is less than two hours from Toronto and only just over an hour from certain GTA cities like Oshawa, Newmarket, and Markham. This is a much shorter distance than many other places in Ontario cottage country and yet residents get all the same benefits. What’s not to love?
Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board runs the public elementary and secondary schools in the municipality of Kawartha Lakes. Some of the main schools in the area are IE Weldon Secondary School, Queen Victoria Public School, and Alexandra Public School. There are also a few options for private education, like Heritage Christian School and Lakefield College School. When it comes to post-secondary, you might be surprised to learn that even a city as small as Kawartha Lakes (it boasts a population of just 75,000), has multiple post-secondary options to choose from. For instance, Fleming College and Seneca College - Peterborough are both located in nearby Peterborough. Then there are the many universities in the Greater Toronto Area and the City of Toronto, including Durham College, Ontario Tech University, and Trent University, all of which are an hour away in the Durham Region. If you are willing to venture as far as the City of Toronto, you will find the globally-ranked University of Toronto, George Brown College, York University, Seneca College, Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), Humber College, Sheridan College, Toronto Film School, and the Ontario College of Art & Design University (OCAD).
The main neighbourhoods that make up Kawartha Lakes are Lindsay, Bobcaygeon, Woodville, Bethany, Pontypool, Coboconk, Burnt River, Omemee, and Fenelon Falls. Lindsay is the largest community in Kawartha Lakes with a population of over 22,000 people.
Despite its small size and distance from Toronto, the City of Kawartha Lakes has an impressive public transportation system. Lindsay Transit operates a network of local buses throughout the Kawartha Lakes Region. For travel within the Greater Toronto Area, residents will have to drive to a GO Transit station, the closest being the Oshawa GO Station, Whitby GO Station, the GO Bus Terminal in Peterborough, or the GO Bus stop in Clarington North. Once you are at any GO station or stop, you will gain access to Metrolinx’s entire transit network, which can take residents into downtown Toronto and beyond, such as to Kitchener, Hamilton, and many other GTA cities. TOK Coach Lines also offers coach bus services from Kawartha Lakes to the GTA, with stops in Vaughan, Oshawa, and Toronto Pearson International Airport. Speaking of air travel, the nearest airport to Kawartha Lakes is the Kawartha Lakes Municipal Airport. However, this airport does not offer international travel. Residents will need to travel to Toronto Pearson International Airport or Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to fly abroad. Both of these facilities are roughly 90 minutes by car from Kawartha Lakes. Thankfully, driving in and around Kawartha Lakes isn’t too difficult thanks to the many highways that run through it. Motorists can easily access Highway Highway 7, Highway 12, and Highway 35, all of which lead to other major highways, like Highway 401 and Highway 407. As for healthcare, Kawartha Lakes is home to Ross Memorial Hospital. Other nearby hospitals include Peterborough Regional Health Care, Lakeridge Health Oshawa, and Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie. Of course, if needed, you can also take advantage of Toronto’s top-ranked hospitals, like Toronto General Hospital, North York General Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, St. Michael’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Humber River Hospital, and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).
Kawartha Lakes has its own police force, the Kawartha Lakes Police Service, which keeps the residents of the region safe. Emergency services can always be accessed by dialing 9-1-1. That said, crime rates are incredibly low in the area, as is the risk of natural disasters, which makes Kawartha Lakes a safe place to call home.
Kawartha Lakes has a property market that is in high demand. Due to the fact that it is a rural community, there are fewer housing options to choose from. That said, these conditions make it a great place to invest. Plus, the cost of living and housing market is still more affordable than in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. At this time, the property market in Kawartha Lakes is largely dominated by detached homes, semi-detached homes, cottages and seasonal homes, and townhomes. That said, there are some condos and apartment buildings.
Residents of Kawartha Lakes enjoy an extremely high standard of living. The laidback pace, natural beauty, endless recreational activities, and charming downtown core, make it an idyllic place to live. Of course, there’s also the fact that the rural municipality has lots of big city amenities, like a public transit system and many top-notch schools, as well as a major hospital.
The name Kawartha comes from the word Ka-wa-tha, which was coined by Martha Whetung, a member of the Curve Lake First Nations. According to Whetung, Ka-wa-tha means “land of reflections,” in the Anishinaabe language. It is important to note that Kawartha Lakes sits on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Huron-Wendat, and Haudenosaunee peoples.