'Wallet-bursting' housing costs have some Torontonians ditching the city for cheaper pastures
Mauro Quattrochi is facing a decision shared by many in Toronto: commit to a “wallet-bursting life in the city, or a car-bound, almost-as-expensive life outside it?”
Quattrochi, an engineer living in downtown Toronto, says the mortgage cost on his condominium townhouse will skyrocket upon renewal next year.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“We're staring down the barrel of an economic gun,” Quattrochi told CTV News Toronto.
He wants to start a family with his partner, “but with the costs of food, childcare, and general daily living,” the path forward for the couple isn’t so clear.
It’s a dilemma shared by residents across Toronto – renters and homeowners, alike – amid skyrocketing costs.
According to a new report by real estate listing site Zoocasa, the cost of living in Toronto went up nearly 20 per cent between 2017 and 2022, bringing the average price of a home in nearly half of Toronto’s neighbourhoods to over $2 million.
Quattrochi's downtown condo can be seen above. (Handout)
If prices rise by an average of 5.6 per cent per year between now and then, in just ten years, $2 million will be the average mark for all homes across the city, the company projects.
Homeowners aren’t alone in the struggle, either – renters are also feeling the crunch. Between 2016 and 2021, average rental prices in Ontario rose by nearly 30 per cent. With the average Toronto two-bedroom apartment currently going for just over $3,000 a month, some renters are looking elsewhere.
But the decision to leave the city doesn't come easily for all - moving to the suburbs or a smaller town requires a lifestyle change.
"Most small towns look the same," Quattrochi said. "A sea of suburbs, a downtown strip of two-storey 1900s buildings, a sprawling industrial district, smart centres, and highways, highways, highways."
Bay and Front streets in downtown Toronto (CP PHOTO/Kevin Frayer)
Brad Burgess, born and raised in Toronto, gave up city living with his wife late last year and bought a home in the Maritimes.
In late 2023, Burgess said they were served an eviction notice, forcing them from their rental of more than a decade on the Danforth.
Reentering the housing market for the first time in over 10 years, Burgess, working as an assistant Crown attorney at the time, said he and his wife were “shocked” at the price of a comparable unit.
“To rent, we would be looking at probably north of $3,000 and I was not willing to pay that amount. It’s outrageous,” Burgess said in an interview. “And then to buy a house, I don't think we could have swung anything actually in the city – maybe in the GTA, but we’d be house-poor."
“And I'd have to commute all the way downtown every day.”
So, Burgess returned with his wife to her childhood province of New Brunswick, purchasing a home in Moncton that was mortgage-free.
“What I don't miss, number one, is the outrageous cost of living and number two, the crime,” he said.
“What I do miss is being able to walk out my front door and have everything right there. We lived on the Danforth, so you could walk to little bars, restaurants, grocery, whatever. Whereas here, you have to drive everywhere.”
Danforth Avenue can be seen above. (Broadview Danforth BIA/Facebook)
Petya Stavreva, another lifelong Toronto resident, moved to Alberta last August, she told CTV News.
Before the move, Stavreva had rented an apartment with her husband in the city; “It was a one-bedroom basement apartment, 500 square feet, with no real windows,” she said.
They wanted to purchase a home, but property in the city was out of reach. “So, it really didn’t take long to make the decision and execute it.”
The couple loaded up their car and drove to Edmonton “without thinking twice.”
Now, they live 20 minutes from downtown in a five-bedroom house with a backyard. Their mortgage payments, she said, only cost them $200 more than their past rent payments. “In Toronto, this was simply impossible to achieve,” Stavreva said.
Petya Stavreva can be seen above alongside her husband (Handout)
“We took a giant risk and left everything we'd known, left our friends and some family, to start a new life. I would never, ever, ever, ever go back to Toronto,” she continued.
“Life is too short to spend it living like that, it's not worth it.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
New charges for Ont. woman who previously admitted to defrauding doulas
The Brantford, Ont. woman who was previously sentenced to house arrest after admitting to deceiving doulas has been charged again in connection to a new victim.