Toronto Condo Prices per Square Foot: How to Compare Two Units Fairly

The short answer

Toronto condo prices per square foot are easy to calculate and easy to misread. The division is simple: asking price over floor area. The trouble is that the floor area on one listing may not be measured the same way as on the next and two units at the same price per square foot can come with very different extras and monthly costs.

This post sets out a method for a first time buyer comparing condo units. It covers what the floor area figure means, where a unit’s size and fee share are officially recorded, how to work out a price per square foot and a monthly carrying cost per square foot and what to ask for in writing. Every number in the examples is a round illustration, not a market figure. It is general information, so have a real estate lawyer review the documents for the unit you are buying.

What the floor area on a listing or floor plan means

For new homes there is a written standard. The Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA), which licenses and regulates new home builders and sellers in Ontario, issued Directive 3 on floor area calculations. It took effect on February 1, 2021 and was last updated on March 22, 2021.

The directive applies when a licensee uses a floor area in advertising, sales material or an agreement of purchase and sale. A builder does not have to state a floor area at all. When it does, the method for a condo unit is:

• the area bounded by the centre lines of the walls separating the unit from other units
• out to the exterior surface of all exterior walls
• and to the exterior surface of the corridor wall enclosing the unit
• less any openings to the floor below that are not for stairs

Mechanical shafts or chases that directly serve the unit are included. Open and enclosed balconies are not, unless they are designed as year-round living space and are heated and insulated to the Ontario Building Code. The directive says balconies may be shown separately, as in “2,000 square foot house plus 150 square foot balcony”.

Three more rules affect what the number tells you:

1. Tolerance. A variation of plus or minus 2.0% from the total area is acceptable.
2. The required note. Any material that states an area must say: “Note: Actual usable floor space may vary from the stated floor area.”
3. The middle floor method. In a high-rise, a builder may state the area for each model as measured on the middle floor. It must then tell buyers that units on lower floors may have less floor space, because of thicker structural members and mechanical rooms, while units on higher floors may have more.

Because the measurement runs to wall centre lines and outside faces, the stated area includes wall thickness you cannot stand on. The required note says as much: usable space may differ from the stated figure.

For a resale condo, none of the sources we checked sets a method for the square footage shown on a listing. The figure may be accurate, but you cannot assume it was measured the way the HCRA directive describes. Ask where it came from.

Where a condo unit’s size and fee share are officially recorded

Under section 2 of Ontario’s Condominium Act, 1998, a condominium corporation is created and the land is divided into units and common elements when a declaration and a description are registered. Those two documents are where a unit’s size and fee share are fixed.

Document	What it records	Where the rule is
Description	The boundaries of each unit by reference to the buildings or other monuments	Condominium Act, s. 8 (1) (c)
Description	Diagrams showing the shape and dimensions of each unit	Condominium Act, s. 8 (1) (d)
Description	A certificate from an Ontario land surveyor that the unit diagrams are substantially accurate	Condominium Act, s. 8 (1) (f)
Declaration, Schedule C	The boundaries of each unit, described by reference to walls, floors, ceilings or other physical features	O. Reg. 48/01, s. 5 (4); O. Reg. 49/01, s. 6 (4)
Declaration, Schedule D	Each unit’s share of the common interests and of the common expenses, as percentages totalling 100%	O. Reg. 48/01, s. 5 (5)
Declaration	The parts of the common elements reserved for the use of one or more units, such as a balcony	Condominium Act, s. 7 (2) (f)

The registered boundaries in Schedule C follow physical features of the building, such as walls and floors, so they need not match the builder’s marketing method. If the size of the unit matters to your decision, ask your lawyer to compare the unit diagram in the description with the floor plan you were shown.

For a new condo, section 72 requires the builder (the declarant, in the Act’s words) to give you a disclosure statement. It includes a copy of the existing or proposed declaration and a budget statement with the projected monthly common expense contribution for each type of unit. Its table of contents must show whether the documents address two points that matter here: whether any unit’s share of the common expenses differs by 10% or more from that of another unit of the same type, size and design and whether parking is allowed in a unit or on the common elements, with its restrictions. Our guide to new construction in Toronto covers the rest of a builder purchase.

For a resale condo, the condo status certificate is where the current fee and copies of the declaration and budget come from.

Working out Toronto condo prices per square foot

The formula is the asking price divided by the floor area. A $600,000 unit with 600 square feet works out to $1,000 per square foot. Before you trust that figure, run two checks.

Check the tolerance. At plus or minus 2%, a stated 600 square feet covers anything from 588 to 612 square feet. That moves the price per square foot from about $1,020 to about $980 on the same unit. A difference of $20 or $30 per square foot between two listings may be nothing more than measurement.

Check what the area includes. Suppose a listing for a $600,000 unit says 650 square feet and that figure turns out to include a 100 square foot balcony. The HCRA method would leave the balcony out.

Illustrative $600,000 unit	Floor area used	Price per square foot
Area including the balcony	650 square feet	$923
Interior area, balcony shown separately	550 square feet	$1,091

The same unit looks $168 per square foot cheaper when the balcony is folded in. The Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO) names balconies as the most common example of an exclusive use common element: the corporation owns it and the owner has the exclusive use of it. The declaration shows how the balcony on the unit you are considering is treated.

Why two units at the same price per square foot are not equal

The price buys more than floor space. The monthly costs differ too.

• Parking and lockers. The Condominium Act refers to units intended for parking or storage purposes, so a parking space or locker can be a separate unit. Section 72 also recognizes parking on a part of the common elements of which an owner has exclusive use. Or the unit may come with neither. A price per square foot that includes a parking unit is not the same as one that does not.
• The condo fee. Owners pay the common expenses in the proportions set in the declaration, under section 84 of the Act. The CAO says each unit’s percentage is based on its size, parking space and locker and is first set by the builder through the declaration. The fee pays to maintain common elements such as the parking garage, hallways, lobby, recreation centre and elevators and to build the reserve fund.
• What the fee pays for. The budget statement for a new condo must give particulars of the type, frequency and level of the services provided. Read the budget to see which costs the corporation pays and which you would pay yourself.
• Property tax. The City of Toronto estimates property tax as the assessed value multiplied by the total residential tax rate. MPAC lists the total square footage of living area as one of the four key factors in a condo assessment, along with the age of the building, location and quality of construction. Our post on Toronto property tax explains the bill.

Carrying cost per square foot: a worked example

This is an illustration with round numbers, not two real listings. Both units have the same price per square foot. Unit A comes with a parking unit and a locker and its fee covers heating. Unit B has neither and its owner pays for heating separately.

Illustrative figures	Unit A	Unit B
Asking price	$600,000	$540,000
Stated floor area	600 square feet	540 square feet
Price per square foot	$1,000	$1,000
Parking and locker	Included	None
Monthly condo fee	$560	$430
Heating paid separately	$0	$50
Property tax per month	$230	$205
Monthly carrying cost	$790	$685
Carrying cost per square foot per month	$1.32	$1.27

The carrying cost is the fee plus separately paid heating plus property tax. Dividing by the floor area gives $790 over 600 square feet for Unit A and $685 over 540 square feet for Unit B.

Read the result both ways. Unit B costs $105 a month less ($1,260 a year) and slightly less per square foot. Unit A’s higher fee and price include a parking space and a locker. If you need parking, Unit B’s price does not buy it.

The fee also affects what a lender will approve. Our post on the mortgage stress test for Toronto buyers explains how it is counted. To compare the mortgage payment on each price, use the Toronto mortgage calculator.

What to ask for in writing

1. How the stated floor area was calculated and whether it includes the balcony or terrace.
2. For a new build, whether the area was measured on the unit’s own floor or on the middle floor.
3. Whether parking and the locker are separate units, exclusive use common elements or not included.
4. The unit’s percentage share of the common expenses from Schedule D of the declaration, plus any parking or locker unit’s share.
5. The current monthly fee and the budget, so you can see what the fee covers.
6. The latest property tax bill or the MPAC assessed value.
7. The unit diagram in the registered description, for your lawyer to compare with the floor plan.

Before you compare listings

Put every unit you are considering into the same table: asking price, floor area and how it was measured, parking, locker, fee, property tax and any separately paid costs. Work out both the price per square foot and the carrying cost per square foot, then compare what each unit actually includes.

Set aside cash beyond the down payment as well. Our post on closing costs when buying in Toronto lists them and the land transfer tax calculator works out both Toronto taxes and the first time buyer rebates. Our guide for first time home buyers in Toronto puts the whole purchase in order and our buyer page explains how we search and write offers.

If you are comparing condo units and want a second pair of eyes on the numbers, contact us.