You can now apply to own a home on the Toronto Islands. Here's how
Prospective homebuyers with the dream of living on the Toronto Islands can now put their names down on the Purchasers’ List.
It’s the only way to have a chance of owning property on the Islands, as homes here are sold through a regulated system per legislation introduced in 1993. Under it, houses are sold at fixed prices, but only to one of the 500 names on the Purchasers’ List.
How the process works is relatively straightforward. Bids for homes start with the first person on the list, and then they move down until they reach someone who wants to place a bid and financing is complete. Then the house is considered sold.
The Trust usually sends the offers to the top 150 to 250 names on the list, and according to the Toronto Islands Residential Community Trust Corporation, buyers are typically found among the first 100 people.
As of Tuesday, and until Nov. 1, registration for the Purchasers’ List is open, and once it closes, it won’t open up for another two years. It costs $20 for the application.
New members are added to the end of the bidding list, and they only move up as those ahead of them either buy a home or stop paying their membership dues.
According to the Trust, an average of 15 to 20 people each year don’t renew their place on the list, but they typically cannot predict how many people will remove their names each year.
The Trust also reminds those joining that they cannot foresee how many homes will sell in any given year.
Since the Purchasers’ List’s establishment in 1994, there have been a total of 70 homes sold.
In 2020, one detached home on Ward Island was going for just $160,000, and it didn’t sell a dollar over the asking price due to the regulations under the Toronto Islands Residential Community Stewardship Act.
HOW TORONTO ISLAND HOMES ARE PRICED
All of the homes on the Islands sit on public land that has been leased from the province for the next 70 years, until December 2092. Homebuyers get to hold the title of the property until then, but never the land it sits on.
As a result, the value of the land is set by legislation. Before the Act, the cost of a lease on Ward’s Island went for $36,000 and it was $46,000 for a lot on Algonquin Island. But now a lease on Ward’s Island goes for around $60,000 or $78,000 on Algonquin Island. The lease is a one-time payment.
As for the value of a house on the Islands, the prices are not determined by the lot size and location. Instead, it is valued through a regulated appraisal and inspection process and only based on how much it cost to build the home.
According to the Trust, house prices range between roughly $50,000 to $700,000 with average prices falling in the $150,000 to $400,000 range (excluding the one-time lease cost). It is still a far cry from the average prices in the GTA’s current real estate market.
With files from CTV Toronto’s Sean Davidson.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Prince William and wife Kate thank public for birthday messages for son Louis
Prince William and his wife Kate thanked the public for their messages which had been sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis on Tuesday.
She was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father. Then life dealt her a blow
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
South Korean sentenced to 14 months in jail for killing 76 cats
South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country's most gruesome cases of animal cruelty in recent years.