The short version
Over the year to September 2026, the benchmark price of a condo apartment fell in the City of Toronto and in every York Region municipality where one is published: about 6 per cent in Toronto, and more than that in most of York Region. The fixed rates buyers actually paid barely moved through July 2026. This fall the bond yield rose, and the posted rate ticked up on October 7, 2026. The rate buyers paid after July 2026 is not published yet, so get a current quote from your lender before you run your number. At 20 per cent down, the illustrative monthly mortgage payment on a typical Richmond Hill condo apartment is still lower than in September 2025 even at a rate a full point above the 4.5 per cent I used for September 2025, and Markham stays lower at half a point. In the City of Toronto or Vaughan it is slightly lower or about the same at half a point higher, and higher beyond that. The same pattern holds at the minimum down payment. Before you decide this fall, do three things: run your own monthly number, get or renew your pre-approval and ask how long it holds the rate, and test the building as carefully as the unit.
What I would do
We are shopping for a condo for our daughter this fall. The question we keep asking is whether the building will still be a good place to live, and to sell, in ten years. That is the question I would put first. The monthly number tells you what you can afford. The building test tells you whether this unit is worth it.
Run your own monthly number. The next section shows how.
Get or renew your pre-approval, and ask how long it holds the rate. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) says a pre-approval can hold a rate for 60 to 130 days, depending on the lender, and that it does not guarantee you will be approved for a mortgage. The questions to ask are in the answers below.
Test the building as carefully as the unit. The building test below shows how.
Run your own monthly number
A lower price helps most when it also lowers what you pay every month. A mortgage calculator on your phone is enough; your lender can run it too. Start with four inputs: the price, your down payment, the rate you are quoted, and the amortization (25 years here). That gives you the mortgage payment. Then add the three costs that come with the unit: the monthly condo fee, the property tax, and your own insurance. That total is your monthly number.
To show how much the answer moves, here are two worked cases using the condo apartment benchmark from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) for September 2025 and 2026. The benchmark comes from the MLS Home Price Index (MLS HPI), which tracks a typical unit, so the month’s sales mix moves it much less than an average price. The starting rate is my assumption, so replace it with your own quote.
Prices as in the benchmark table below; the posted rate and the rates actually paid are from the Bank of Canada. The 4.50%, 5.00% and 5.50% rate rows are illustrations, not quotes.
| Monthly cost, 25-year amortization | City of Toronto | Richmond Hill |
|---|---|---|
| Benchmark price, September 2025 (derived) | $580,735 | $561,951 |
| Benchmark price, September 2026 | $543,800 | $493,000 |
| 20% down: September 2025, at 4.50% | $2,571.37 | $2,488.20 |
| 20% down: September 2026, same rate (4.50%) | $2,407.83 (-$163.54, -6.36%) | $2,182.90 (-$305.30, -12.27%) |
| 20% down: September 2026, half a point higher (5.00%) | $2,530.21 (-$41.15, -1.60%) | $2,293.85 (-$194.35, -7.81%) |
| 20% down: September 2026, a full point higher (5.50%) | $2,655.45 (+$84.08, +3.27%) | $2,407.38 (-$80.82, -3.25%) |
| 20% down, from a 4.00% or 5.00% start: half a point higher | -1.47% to -1.73% | -7.69% to -7.93% |
| 20% down, from a 4.00% or 5.00% start: a full point higher | +3.01% to +3.53% | -3.00% to -3.49% |
| Minimum down, 4.00% CMHC premium added (90.01% to 95% loan-to-value): September 2025, at 4.50% | $3,152.40 | $3,055.10 |
| Minimum down: September 2026, same rate (4.50%) | $2,961.06 (-6.07%) | $2,695.88 (-11.76%) |
| Minimum down: September 2026, half a point higher (5.00%) | $3,111.57 (-1.30%) | $2,832.90 (-7.27%) |
| Minimum down: September 2026, a full point higher (5.50%) | $3,265.57 (+3.59%) | $2,973.12 (-2.68%) |
| Property tax: 2026 total residential rate | 0.767311% | 0.760104% |
| Property tax a month on the September 2026 benchmark (illustration) | $347.72 | $312.28 |
| Rates (same in both areas): posted five-year rate, every week, September 2025 to September 30, 2026 | 6.09% | same |
| Posted five-year rate from October 7, 2026 | 6.19% | same |
| Paid on new fixed mortgages with terms of five years or longer, uninsured, September 2025 / July 2026 (latest) | 4.37% / 4.49% | same |
| Paid, insured, September 2025 / July 2026 | 4.05% / 4.05% | same |
| Five-year bond yield, September 1 / late September 2026 | 3.35% / 3.69% | same |
| Five-year bond yield, September average 2025 / 2026 | 2.77% / 3.57% | same |
| Big banks’ advertised five-year specials, October 12, 2026, uninsured / insured | 5.14% to 5.34% / 4.84% to 5.34% | same |
| Policy rate, before September 17, 2025 / since October 29, 2025 | 2.75% / 2.25% | same |
Payments are rounded to the cent, so a difference can be a cent off. The benchmark table further down shows the half-point case for each municipality.
Then add the costs that come with the unit:
- Condo fees. I found no suitable public condo-fee series, so I will not give you an average. The fee is in the listing, and the budget behind it is in the status certificate. Compare it with similar buildings nearby of the same age and size; if it sits well below theirs, ask about it when your lawyer reviews the status certificate.
- Property tax. Using each city’s own 2026 rate, a typical condo apartment comes to about $350 a month in Toronto, and about $310 in Richmond Hill. These are illustrations, not estimates of the unit’s tax bill: Ontario property tax is charged on the assessed value from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), which for 2026 is still based on January 1, 2016 values. Your number is the unit’s assessment times the rate.
- Insurance. A quote for your own unit-owner policy takes one phone call.
On rates, here is what I can show. The rate buyers actually paid on new fixed mortgages with terms of five years or longer barely moved between September 2025 and July 2026, up about a tenth of a point for uninsured mortgages (insured stayed at 4.05%), while the Bank of Canada’s policy rate fell. Since then the five-year Government of Canada bond yield, which fixed rates tend to follow, has risen: from 3.35% on September 1 to 3.69% in late September. The Bank’s posted five-year rate ticked up on October 7, 2026 after a year without a change. The banks’ advertised specials on October 12, 2026 are a level on one date, so they cannot show a change, and setting them beside last September’s paid rate compares two different kinds of number. What I cannot show yet is the rate buyers paid after July 2026, because the Bank’s series ends there. So the rate rows in the table are illustrations; they do not measure what anyone paid. The Bank’s next rate announcement is October 28, 2026.
The building test
The five things to investigate in any building, from the reserve fund to the board minutes to your own evening visit, are in Anatomy of a Safe Condo. A first condo is usually not a forever home, so I add a few checks that bear on how easy it may be to sell later.
- Layout and size. Think about who buys it from you in five or ten years. A layout that works for one person today and for the next buyer later tends to matter more to the next buyer than a finish you will replace anyway.
- Who lives there. Ask how many units are lived in by their owners and how many are rented out. A building where most units are rented can feel and run differently from one where most owners live on site.
- Renovations and board approval. If the unit has a new kitchen, an opened wall or new flooring, ask whether the corporation approved the work, and ask your lawyer whether the corporation could require it to be undone after you own it.
The status certificate, and what may change on December 31, 2026
The status certificate is the condo corporation’s own statement of where the building stands. According to the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO), the corporation can charge up to $100 including all applicable taxes for it. It must provide the certificate within 10 days. What matters most in it: the reserve fund, any special assessments, any legal actions, the budget, and the building’s insurance. I flag what needs investigating; a lawyer reviews the status certificate. Where the competition allows, keep that review as a condition of your offer so there is time to do it properly.
One dated item is worth knowing about, and it is a proposal. In September 2026 Ontario consulted on expanding status certificates to include the status of legal actions, outstanding judgments, elevator outages in the previous 12 months and their financial implications. The Condominium Authority of Ontario’s notice of September 18, 2026 says the changes would take effect on December 31, 2026 if approved. Separate owner-meeting rules take effect that day; they do not change your certificate. Comments closed on September 30, 2026. As of October 12, 2026, I have not seen a final decision. Ask your lawyer which rules apply when reviewing your certificate.
Cash to close
The full list of closing costs, with land transfer tax worked out at different prices, is in my guide to closing costs and land transfer tax in Ontario. Here are only the pieces specific to a first condo:
- Down payment. According to the FCAC, the minimum on a $500,000 condo is $25,000. Above that price the minimum is 5 per cent of the first $500,000 plus 10 per cent of the rest, up to $1.5 million; at $1.5 million or more it is 20 per cent. The full rule is in the answers below.
- Mortgage loan insurance. With less than 20 per cent down, the CMHC premium is added to the mortgage. At the minimum down payment on a $500,000 condo, it comes to about $19,000. Ontario’s provincial sales tax on that premium cannot go into the mortgage and is paid in cash.
- Land transfer tax. If you qualify as a first-time buyer, you can claim an Ontario refund, and inside the City of Toronto a Toronto rebate as well; the amounts are in the answers below. Toronto charges its own municipal land transfer tax on top of the provincial one, but only inside the city boundary; in Richmond Hill, Markham or Vaughan only the provincial tax applies.
- First-home programs. Two programs that are yours to use are worth knowing early: the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP), which lets you make an eligible withdrawal of up to $60,000 from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), and the First Home Savings Account (FHSA), which has a yearly and a lifetime contribution limit (both are in the answers below).
- A gift from family. If a parent is helping, ask your lender how they want the gift documented.
- Legal fees and title insurance. Both belong in the budget. Ask your lawyer for a written estimate for your price and municipality.
The whole buying sequence, and where each of these lands, is in how to buy a house in Ontario, step by step.
If the unit has a tenant
A rented unit needs a possession plan before you offer. Make it with your lawyer and your agent. The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) changed some of its rules and forms on September 21, 2026, and previous versions of the N12 form, the notice used when a landlord, a purchaser or a family member of either needs the unit, will no longer be accepted as of November 30, 2026. That is as far as I will go here. How a tenancy ends on a sale is a legal question, so ask a lawyer before you sign.
Where the numbers come from
The price side comes from TRREB’s Market Watch for September 2026. The MLS HPI condo apartment benchmark is the one municipal price comparison TRREB publishes year over year.
Benchmarks from TRREB Market Watch, September 2026, page 25; sales from TRREB Market Watch, September 2026, page 1. Last column: illustrative payment, 20% down, half a point above a 4.50% start, against September 2025 (in brackets, from a 4.00% to 5.00% start).
| Condo apartment benchmark | September 2026 | Change over 12 months | September 2025 (derived) | Payment change, 20% down, half a point higher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Toronto | $543,800 | -6.36% | $580,735 | -1.60% (-1.47% to -1.73%) |
| Vaughan | $523,100 | -4.92% | $550,168 | -0.09% (+0.04% to -0.21%) |
| York Region | $512,900 | -8.79% | $562,329 | -4.15% (-4.03% to -4.28%) |
| Markham | $517,200 | -9.70% | $572,757 | -5.11% (-4.99% to -5.23%) |
| Newmarket | $462,400 | -11.67% | $523,491 | not shown |
| Richmond Hill | $493,000 | -12.27% | $561,951 | -7.81% (-7.69% to -7.93%) |
| Stouffville | $533,000 | -13.97% | $619,551 | not shown |
| Aurora | $494,400 | -14.14% | $575,821 | not shown |
| Seven Toronto districts with a printed apartment row | -5.53% to -15.18% | |||
| Condo apartment sales, City of Toronto (884 units, average price $640,248) | sales down 5.5% | |||
| Condo apartment sales, rest of the TRREB area, the “905” (432 units, average price $533,654) | sales down 12.4% |
TRREB prints the September 2026 benchmark and the percentage change; the year-ago column can be off by about $100 from rounding.
Fewer condo apartments sold too, and the drop was steeper in the 905. An average price moves with whatever mix of units happened to sell, so I use the benchmark for the price comparison and the averages only as context.
TRREB does not print a North York benchmark. Its report lists Toronto districts by code only, and every Toronto district with a printed apartment row fell over the year, some by much more than the city as a whole. One more reason to run the number for your own building.
RBC Economics, in its affordability report of September 28, 2026, found that the Toronto area’s condo segment “continues to show most relief, reaching its most favourable level since 2017.” That report covers the second quarter of 2026, before the September 2026 rise in the bond yield.
Sources
Sources: TRREB Market Watch (September 2026), the Bank of Canada, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, CMHC, the Condominium Authority of Ontario, the Canada Revenue Agency, MPAC, the Landlord and Tenant Board, RBC Economics, and the City of Toronto and City of Richmond Hill property tax pages. The starting rate, the rate scenarios and the payments are illustrations, not quotes.