Check out what Typical House Price in Toronto gets you!

National Post writes: The average house price in the greater Toronto area is $356,423, but the GTA is a huge area, covering 86 districts from Burlington to Newcastle and as far north as Orangeville. "When making direct comparisons, it's important to note that some areas of Canada have different approaches to calculating the average price," says Dorothy Mason, president of the Toronto Real Estate Board. Toronto covers a huge area and includes all housing types, which drives the average price down. If you want a single-family house in the city, you'll be paying a lot more. How much more? "When people start looking for a house, most want to be between St. Clair and Wilson, and between Avenue Road and Bayview," says Cheri McCann [real-estate agent with Sutton Group]. "There's easy access to downtown by car or subway, great schools, safe neighbourhoods and lots of stores and restaurants within walking distance." But the GTA's average house price won't even buy you an empty lot in this area.

"I just sold a two-bedroom on Lawrence [Avenue] for $400,000," says Ms. McCann. "That's as cheap as you can get." So, what can this $356,423 buy you in Toronto? Not a place in the core, that being the Danforth, Riverdale, the Beach and High Park. "Average" will find you looking to areas west of Allen Road between Lawrence and Eglinton avenues, or the St. Clair and Vaughan region. You may sacrifice convenience, but you will find a house, quite possibly a detached, on a 32x130-foot lot. Many of these homes need overhauls. In Parkdale, the average outlay can buy you a three-bedroom semi-detached on about 25x133 feet of land. Again, renovations are a must. This area has been on the cusp of gentrification for more than a decade, and with High Park to the west and kitschy hotels such as the Gladstone to the east, Parkdale is increasingly popular.

A caveat: Many of the houses are being bought as investment properties and used as rentals with a lot of residents under one roof. "This overpopulates the area, which can lead to problems," Ms. McCann says. The only other in-the-city option is to look to the Danforth east of Pape Avenue. "The gentrification of Danforth's streets and shops continues to push further and further east," says Ms. McCann. "The area will gain value and I suggest it as a good investment for first-time homebuyers." For around $356,423, you can get a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, semi-detached on about 19x100 feet of land. If you buy close to main streets, you may even find a house that has been updated and needs minimal renovations.

For an average-priced house in an established, safe neighbourhood with good schools, there will be at least an hour's commute to downtown. Richmond Hill and Vaughan to the north of Toronto have detached houses at that average price -- in need of updates with three bedrooms and two baths. The commute into the core will take an hour or more, but at least you'll have a garage to park your car in when you're home and a lot that averages 6,000 feet. A new house in this price range? Well, it'll be a townhouse, also with three bedrooms and two or three baths, but the lot will be tiny, at 21x110 feet. Oakville houses have similar features and commute times. At the opposite end of the city, you can find a newish house in Markham with four bedrooms, three or four baths and a two-car garage on 40x110 sq. ft.

Willing to spend more time in your automobile? Bump up your commute nearer to two hours and score a new house with three or four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a two-car garage on up to 100x200 feet of land in Uxbridge. The house might even back on to a golf course or lake.

In the Toronto area, the average homebuyer must choose between commute time, size and condition of house. You cannot have it all for $356,423.

But how far will your dollars go in the rest of Canada? To find out read the full story!