Notoriously high home prices in the Greater Toronto Area have would-be home buyers looking beyond the overvalued region for more affordable places to put down roots.

Average home prices in the region — just below $1.1 million as of Feb. 2023 — are approaching double the national average of $662,437. Luckily for buyers, prices have declined across the country since an early 2022 peak, but it will still cost you a pretty penny to set up shop in any of the major population centres.

The GTA remains the second-least affordable housing market in Canada behind Greater Vancouver, however, there are still plenty of places in Ontario where you can still buy into your new life at prices well below that of the typical Canadian home.

In a search for pockets of affordability in this increasingly costly national housing market, real estate experts Zoocasa analyzed average home prices in 20 regional Canadian markets to see how far they've fallen below national averages.

Of the 20 markets, they identified 14 areas with comparatively affordable home prices, including five located right here in Ontario.

Sudbury

Sudbury was ranked the 7th most affordable market in Canada, and the cheapest Ontario market of 20 analyzed. Its average home price of $401,100 represents a decline of 13.7 per cent over the previous year, though other cities witnessed even more substantial price declines in this period.

Windsor-Essex

With an average home price of $565,400, Windsor-Essex is the tenth-most-affordable market in Canada and the second-cheapest in the province, though home prices only declined by 2.3 since last year, comparatively stable versus other markets surveyed.

London and St. Thomas

Canada's 11th most affordable market (and Ontario's third cheapest) registered an average home price of $583,500 in February. But it's the price change over 2022 that makes this market even more attractive, dropping a staggering 25.1 per cent since last year.

Ottawa

The nation's capital is the 13th most affordable market (or the 8th most expensive, depending on your outlook) in Canada, with an average price of $613k that neatly matches the city's primary area code. However, it took a 13.9 per cent price decline since 2022 to get there.

Niagara Region

Ontario's wine country and majestic waterfall destination is the seventh most expensive region analyzed in the study, but it's also the first locale on the list to register below the national average, with typical home prices sitting at $627,500. Luckily for buyers, and less so for investors, home prices in the region dropped by a staggering 22.4 per cent since last year.

BlogTO(Jack Landau, March28,2023)