GTA real estate: Where to buy in the inner suburbs 2018

View neighbourhood rankings by region:

1. Central Ajax

Ajax has a couple of important things going for it: It’s on the GO train line and it has large houses for affordable prices, RE/MAX realtor Eily Liang-Bartfai said. “For $800,000 you can get a big house.” If you don’t have $800,000, that’s OK — the average home here was just $476,000 in 2017.

2. Aurora Heights, Aurora

Aurora isn’t going to be affordable for long, Liang-Bartfai predicted. This affluent suburb saw average home prices appreciate 33 per cent from 2016 to 2017, despite the implementation of measures to cool the market down in April.

PHOTOS: Top 10 Toronto neighbourhoods to buy in

3. Village East, Pickering

Similar to Ajax, Pickering boasts GO train access to downtown Toronto and relatively affordable homes compared to its peers. Village East has easy access to the GO station, with the average home selling for $625,000 in 2017.

Realtor pick: Kleinburg

Home to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, which focuses on the Group of Seven, Kleinburg is a village within the City of Vaughan. Kleinburg residents benefit from the small-town feel and access to outdoor trails, while the new Vaughan subway extension makes it relatively easy to commute into the city.

Top 25 neighbourhoods

ClickTap column headings to re-rank neighbourhoods. ClickTap on any neighbourhood name to learn more about it. Search by neighbourhood or area to filter results.

Rank	Neighbourhood	Area	Average home price (2017)	Value	Momentum	Realtor Grade	Average price vs. area	Avg. price vs. metro district	Avg. price vs. outer region	1-year price change	3-year price change	5-year price change
1	Central Ajax	Ajax	$476,215	96.35	69.89	★★★½	73.30%	75.06%	43.73%	10.82%	69.03%	104.32%
2	Aurora Heights	Aurora	$992,408	62.33	94.50	★★★★	86.91%	84.81%	91.13%	32.79%	81.35%	113.88%
3	Village East	Pickering	$624,770	82.76	77.38	★★★½	78.16%	98.48%	57.37%	22.74%	68.18%	91.07%
4	Bayview Wellington	Aurora	$870,565	76.94	69.73	★★★★	76.24%	74.40%	79.94%	14.80%	64.89%	95.90%
5	Heart Lake West	Brampton	$595,521	89.95	64.54	★★★½	86.58%	75.56%	54.68%	21.54%	64.56%	79.51%
6	Queen Street Corridor	Brampton	$664,688	73.63	90.17	★★★	96.64%	84.33%	61.04%	33.83%	77.63%	103.14%
7	Brampton North	Brampton	$591,991	90.64	62.53	★★★½	86.07%	75.11%	54.36%	20.00%	62.93%	79.60%
8	Central Park	Brampton	$561,910	93.61	64.80	★★★	81.70%	71.29%	51.60%	23.54%	56.67%	83.75%
9	North Richvale	Richmond Hill	$1,192,907	45.43	89.39	★★★★	89.14%	101.95%	109.54%	27.13%	75.99%	106.00%
10	Bay Ridges	Pickering	$689,013	69.98	71.42	★★★★	86.20%	108.61%	63.27%	28.41%	64.52%	83.70%
11	Aurora Grove	Aurora	$925,075	69.98	73.23	★★★½	81.01%	79.06%	84.95%	12.51%	73.85%	104.55%
12	Liverpool	Pickering	$678,190	72.60	68.57	★★★½	84.85%	106.90%	62.28%	20.33%	51.70%	95.97%
13	Heart Lake East	Brampton	$612,854	86.30	57.73	★★★½	89.10%	77.76%	56.28%	20.12%	64.83%	74.55%
14	Brock Ridge	Pickering	$704,120	67.24	70.62	★★★½	88.09%	110.99%	64.66%	22.14%	59.45%	88.74%
15	Town Centre	Pickering	$528,378	93.15	45.27	★★★½	66.10%	83.29%	48.52%	15.34%	58.73%	72.95%
16	Crosby	Richmond Hill	$1,010,479	65.53	69.02	★★★★	75.51%	86.36%	92.79%	12.12%	68.32%	101.77%
17	West Shore	Pickering	$795,736	50.57	82.59	★★★★	99.55%	125.43%	73.07%	20.51%	63.27%	108.97%
18	Downtown Brampton	Brampton	$614,253	85.27	54.40	★★★½	89.31%	77.94%	56.40%	28.56%	54.02%	73.86%
19	Northgate	Brampton	$559,827	94.29	56.35	★★★	81.39%	71.03%	51.41%	20.56%	59.01%	76.35%
20	Bayview Northeast	Aurora	$1,038,326	53.77	77.04	★★★★	90.93%	88.74%	95.34%	16.53%	74.23%	101.55%
21	Commerce Valley	Markham	$1,035,939	62.33	75.89	★★★½	78.53%	88.53%	95.13%	23.84%	59.84%	92.42%
22	Madoc	Brampton	$577,990	92.12	51.72	★★★	84.03%	73.33%	53.07%	19.77%	59.88%	72.03%
23	South West	Ajax	$598,440	77.85	63.76	★★★½	92.11%	94.33%	54.95%	16.61%	62.38%	87.66%
24	Oak Ridges	Richmond Hill	$1,036,870	61.30	66.92	★★★★	77.48%	88.61%	95.21%	16.23%	66.29%	89.79%
25	Pottageville	King	$1,260,190	42.35	88.87	★★★★	82.58%	107.70%	115.72%	30.92%	85.78%	98.84%

Value: Measures how affordable the neighbourhood is compared to the surrounding area and the region overall
Momentum: Measures how quickly prices are appreciating in this neighbourhood, with an emphasis on long term appreciation
Realtor Grade: How realtors we surveyed rate this neighbourhood

For more, please see our complete methodology

These are our picks for the best neighbourhoods to buy real estate in Toronto’s inner suburbs, but if you’d rather live closer to downtown or even farther into the countryside, we have more suggestions. We ranked the best neighbourhoods in three regions — core, inner suburbs and outer. The core is the city’s urban centre, with accessible transit and easy access to amenities. The inner suburbs are for people who don’t mind trading a longer commute for better parking and a bigger lot size. And the outer region is for buyers who either don’t need to commute downtown at all, or are willing to log some serious travel time in exchange for affordable prices and wide open spaces. Check out the map below to see how the regions break down.