Eight Ontario cities, each matched to the buyer it suits best, from Barrie commuters to Niagara-on-the-Lake retirees, with live asking prices for every one.
Written by Hamidreza Etebarian on
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The best places to live in Ontario depend on who is moving, and the asking prices show how wide the choice is. A house in London asks a median of $699,900 on Zealty right now, almost exactly half the $1,399,000 median for a house in Toronto. In Oakville the median house asks $1,849,000. Barrie sits at $775,000 with a GO train line to Union Station. All of these figures come from active Ontario listings pulled on October 28, 2026. This guide matches eight Ontario cities to the buyer each one suits best: families, commuters, first-time buyers, retirees, and people who want the lake and the ski hill.
We did not rank these cities from first to eighth. Each one is the strongest fit for a specific kind of buyer, and the comparison that matters is between a city and the alternatives that buyer would weigh. We chose them on four criteria:
These are asking prices, not sold prices. Ontario listing data on Zealty comes from the CREA Data Distribution Facility feed, which carries active listings only, so the numbers show what sellers want today rather than what homes closed for.
Oakville is the most expensive city on this list. The median house asks $1,849,000 across 568 active house listings, which is $450,000 more than the Toronto house median. Of the 974 residential listings in Oakville on October 28, 2026, only 140 ask $600,000 or less, and 123 of those are condo apartments. The median condo asks $569,000 across 199 listings.
What families pay for is a detached house on the Lakeshore West GO line into Union Station, with Lake Ontario parks along the south edge of town. A buyer who wants Oakville at a lower entry price should look at the 204 townhouses, which ask a median of $1,046,945. Browse Oakville listings.
Barrie is where a detached house comes back within reach for a buyer who still needs Toronto. The median house asks $775,000 across 534 active house listings, $624,000 below the Toronto median. Townhouses ask a median of $553,000 across 131 listings, and the whole city carried 851 residential listings on October 28, 2026.
Barrie is the north end of the GO Barrie line, so a train to Union Station is an option on days when Highway 400 traffic is heavy. The city wraps around Kempenfelt Bay on Lake Simcoe, which gives a commuter town a waterfront of its own. Browse Barrie listings.
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Kitchener and Waterloo run together as one urban area, built around the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and the tech employers that grew up beside them. Kitchener had 947 active residential listings on October 28, 2026, with condos at a median of $359,450 across 242 listings and houses at $799,000. Waterloo had 474 listings, with condos at $392,900 and houses at $889,900.
For a young professional, the condo numbers are the headline. A Kitchener condo asks about $220,000 less than the $579,000 median Toronto condo. The GO Kitchener line connects both cities to Union Station. Browse Kitchener listings or browse Waterloo listings.
Hamilton has more condos and townhouses for sale than any other city near Toronto on this list. The median condo asks $380,000 across 343 active listings, $199,000 below the Toronto condo median. Townhouses ask $634,900 across 357 listings, and the city had 2,175 residential listings in total on October 28, 2026, second only to Ottawa on this list.
First-time buyers anywhere in Ontario can claim a provincial refund of up to $4,000 under Ontario's Land Transfer Tax Act (the maximum since January 1, 2017, confirmed on ontario.ca October 28, 2026). Our first-time home buyer Ontario guide adds up that refund with the federal programs.
Hamilton sits on the Lakeshore West GO line, and its houses ask a median of $799,900 across 1,389 listings for buyers who want to skip the condo stage. Browse Hamilton listings.
London is the clearest value on this list among cities with a full set of big-city services. The median house asks $699,900 across 1,289 active house listings. More than half of all 2,048 residential listings in London, 1,092 of them, ask $600,000 or less.
The local economy leans on Western University and London Health Sciences Centre. London is a long way from a Toronto commute, so this is a city to live and work in rather than a bedroom community. Browse London listings.
Ottawa is the largest market on this list, with 3,680 active residential listings on October 28, 2026. The federal public service is the region's anchor employer, and that steady government payroll is the main reason Ottawa suits buyers who put job security first.
Townhouses are the Ottawa entry point. The city has more of them for sale than Toronto does, 1,072 against 791, at a median of $549,900. Houses ask a median of $855,000 across 1,645 listings. Browse Ottawa listings.
Collingwood is on the south shore of Georgian Bay, next door to the Blue Mountain ski area. The median house asks $899,000 across 145 active house listings, and condos ask a median of $574,000 across 79. The town had 332 residential listings on October 28, 2026.
The comparison worth making is with the Town of the Blue Mountains, right beside the ski hill, where the median house asks $1,499,000 across 205 listings. Collingwood puts a buyer close to the same slopes at a median house price $600,000 lower. Browse Collingwood listings.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a small town of wineries, an old town core and the Shaw Festival theatre season, and it is priced like one. The median house asks $1,249,900 across 123 active house listings. Townhouses, the usual downsizing choice here, ask a median of $895,000 across 39 listings.
Supply is the catch. The town had only 178 residential listings on October 28, 2026, and just 21 asked $600,000 or less. Retirees who want Niagara at a lower price should compare it with St. Catharines and Welland in our cheapest Ontario cities ranking. Browse Niagara-on-the-Lake listings.
Start with the commute, because it rules out more cities than price does. If someone in the household works in Toronto several days a week, the realistic shortlist is Oakville, Hamilton, Barrie, and Kitchener and Waterloo, all on GO train lines. If nobody needs Toronto, London and Ottawa give you a full city at a lower price, and Collingwood and Niagara-on-the-Lake give you the lifestyle.
Then set the entry point. A first condo is cheapest in Kitchener, Hamilton and London. A detached house under $800,000 is realistic in London, Barrie, Kitchener and Hamilton. For the Toronto baseline, see our Toronto real estate market breakdown, and budget for the purchase costs in our Ontario closing costs guide.
The best places to live in Ontario change as listings come and go, so watch your shortlist for a few weeks before you commit. You can search active Ontario listings on Zealty, save a search for each city on your list, and get alerts when a new home matches.
Prices in this article are active asking prices pulled on October 28, 2026, and they change daily. This article is educational and is not financial or tax advice.
NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board, or The Canadian Real Estate Association which assume no responsibility for its accuracy. This information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by these organizations or by the agent or brokerage hosting this website. Data presented here is under the license agreement of Holywell Properties, a British Columbia Brokerage.
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Seven programs, one Ontario buyer. We add up the land transfer tax rebates, FHSA, Home Buyers' Plan and new home HST rebates at real Toronto and Windsor asking prices.
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The 10 cheapest places to buy a house in Ontario right now, ranked by the median asking price of active listings, from $399,000 in Thunder Bay to $649,999 in Niagara Falls. Active asking prices, not sold prices.
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Toronto has 8,031 active residential listings and 715 price cuts in the past 30 days. A supply-side read of the live listing book across Toronto and the GTA.
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