For those who have enough capital to drop the ridiculous chunk of change necessary to get into Toronto’s real estate market, even the least expensive properties don’t come cheap, and the costs continue to add up far after purchase.
On top of mortgage payments — which amount to more than $3,000 a month for the typically-priced unit in the GTA after a 20 per cent down payment — along with newly-increased property taxes and certain utilities, there are also condo maintenance fees, which have been rising sharply in the city.
Depending on the size of your unit and what building you’re in, this one monthly bill on its own can nearly rival rent prices, and for small landlords, can thus make it impossible to break even (let alone make a profit) when mortgage rates are high and average rents are down.
A study by local real estate agency Wahi revealed which complexes in the city are currently the worst culprits for their sky-high maintenance fees and which have the lowest fees, potentially making them a more prudent long-term investment.
For the research, Wahi looked exclusively at one-bedroom condos that switched hands in the GTA 2024, and only in buildings where three or more units of this size were sold over the course of the year.
Because of this, the list is not exhaustive and does not show certain communities known for having exorbitant fees. A total of around 1,500 buildings were examined.
Of course, maintenance fees generally reflect a development’s amenities, and are higher for larger units and potentially lower when there are more units in a building. They can also grow as a building ages and requires more repairs and renovations to common areas, but can also be higher in newer builds with fancier shared areas.
Topping the list of places with the loftiest fees of this kind was Harbour Square at Queens Quay and Bay Street, a 1976-built tower with 45 storeys and 539 units. Due in part to its age and features like its large salt-water indoor pool, the complex charges monthly maintenance fees of a painful $1,039 for a one-bedroom unit.
Wahi
Next up is the Shangri-La hotel and residences on University Avenue near Adelaide, in which the average one-bedroom unit owner has to pay a whopping $1,026 per month, likely due to the 2012 building’s prestige and amenities like its yoga studio, 20-meter lap pool, hot tub and infrared sauna.
Rounding out the top three is the Grand Harbour complex in Humber Bay Shores, a 1991-constructed building where you’ll have to cough up $950 in condo fees for a one-bedroom unit thanks to pricey features like a squash court, visitor suites and lounge, and multiple recreation rooms, the costs of which are divided between only 276 units.
Erin Mills Terrace in Misssissauga, One York Quay at 77 Harbor Square, and One King West also made the top 10 list.
Conversely, the lowest maintenance fees in the city are less than half of the highest at $470 per month, and are found at 100 Leeward Glenway in Flemingdon Park. Wahi notes that this is just one example of how “the condo buildings with the lowest median monthly maintenance fees for a one-bedroom unit were generally not as centrally located.”
The amenities at Leeward Glenway include an indoor pool, party and rec rooms, a gym and a sauna, meaning the building offers pretty fantastic bang for your buck, as far as maintenance fees go (though its offerings may not be the most modern, having been built in 1974.)
The second-cheapest maintenance bills for a one-bedroom unit in the region come in at an average of $525, a price found at both the 320 Dixon condos in Etobicoke and The Birches in Scarborough.
Residents of both get to enjoy the standard amenities of a gym and sauna, as well as a pool. At 320 Dixon, there are 897 units to share the costs associated with these amenities, while at the Birches, the price somehow remains low despite there being only 224 units total.
Both developments are from the ’70s and are, like Leeward Glenway, also quite far out of the downtown core.
Wahi
Third on Wahi’s bargain list is Grandravine Apartments, an older complex up at Sheppard and Jane.
Grandravine, built in 1970, boasts no major amenities aside from a sauna. But, its property taxes are actually included in the maintenance fees, giving it an extra edge for those who aren’t thrilled about the idea of throwing away thousands of extra dollars per year after already having to make the very monumental purchase of a condo.
It also helps that the average prices of condos in this second top 10 are far, far below the average price of a condo in the region — we’re talking around half the price — making them particularly ideal for first-time buyers, if you’re okay with living on the outskirts of the city.
