Selling Your Markham Home to Downsize: Price and Preparation

The short answer

• Downsizing works best when it is planned six to twelve months ahead, not decided the week you list.
• Your equity, as much as your new mortgage payment, determines what kind of home you can move into comfortably.
• Selling first gives certainty on budget, buying first gives a smoother move and both have real trade offs.
• Condos and smaller freehold homes in Markham each solve different problems, so match the choice to your lifestyle as well as the price.
• Decluttering and sorting belongings early saves weeks of stress compared to doing it in the final month.

Why Markham Sellers Are Downsizing Right Now

A lot of the calls I get about downsizing in Markham come from the same place: a home that made sense fifteen or twenty years ago now feels like too much. Kids have moved out, the stairs are less appealing than they used to be and the yard work that once felt satisfying now feels like a chore that eats a Saturday.

There is also the financial side. Markham homeowners who bought fifteen, twenty or thirty years ago have often built up significant equity. Selling and moving into something smaller can free up a meaningful amount of cash for retirement, travel or simply reducing monthly costs. That is a real, practical reason on top of the lifestyle one.

None of this means downsizing is automatically the right move for everyone. Some people genuinely love their space and their neighbourhood and are happy to manage the upkeep. The point of this guide is to help you figure out, with real numbers rather than guesses, whether it makes sense for you.

Signs It Might Be Time to Downsize

There is no set age or rule that says you should downsize. But a few patterns show up often enough among Markham sellers that they are worth mentioning.

• You are heating, cooling and maintaining rooms you rarely use.
• Property taxes and utility costs are taking a bigger bite out of your budget than they used to.
• Home maintenance, from the roof to the furnace, is starting to feel like a burden rather than routine upkeep.
• You would rather spend your time and money on travel, hobbies or family than on a bigger home.
• Stairs, a large lot or an isolated location are becoming harder to manage day to day.

If two or three of these sound familiar, it is worth at least running the numbers. That does not mean listing your home tomorrow, it means understanding what your options actually look like.

What Your Home Is Worth vs. What You Need to Buy

The math behind downsizing your home in Markham comes down to one simple comparison: what your current home will sell for, minus selling costs, versus what a smaller home or condo will cost you to buy, plus buying costs.

If you are ready to list, see how we help Markham sellers. Selling costs typically include real estate commission, legal fees and any repairs or staging done before listing. Buying costs include Ontario’s land transfer tax, legal fees on the purchase side and moving expenses. Your lawyer or agent can walk you through the specific figures for your situation, since these vary depending on price and property type.

What often surprises sellers is how much equity is left over after both transactions. In many cases, downsizing from a larger detached home into a townhouse or condo in the same general area frees up a substantial amount of cash, even after all costs are accounted for. I always recommend getting a written comparative market analysis through a home valuation on your current home before making any decisions, rather than relying on what a neighbour’s house sold for or what an online estimate suggests.

Sell First or Buy First?

This is one of the most common questions sellers ask me and there is no single right answer. It depends on your risk tolerance, your finances and how flexible you can be about timing.

Selling First

Selling your current home before buying the next one gives you certainty. You know exactly how much money you have to work with and you are not carrying two mortgages or two sets of property taxes at once. The trade off is that you may need to arrange temporary housing if you have not found your next home yet or negotiate a longer closing period with your buyer.

Buying First

Buying your next home before selling avoids the disruption of a temporary move. You pack once and move once. The risk is financial: if your current home takes longer than expected to sell or sells for less than hoped, you could be carrying two properties at once. A bridge loan can help cover that gap for qualified buyers, but it comes with its own costs and is not something every lender offers.

Many Markham sellers downsizing within the same area choose a hybrid approach: list their current home with a longer closing date and use that window to shop for the next place. It is not always possible, but when it works, it removes a lot of the stress.

Condo, Townhouse or Smaller House?

Once you have a sense of your budget (our homes for sale page shows what is on the market), the next decision is what kind of home to move into. Each option solves a different problem.

Option	Best for	Watch out for
Condo apartment	Low maintenance, amenities, lock-and-leave lifestyle	Monthly condo fees, corporation rules, less storage
Townhouse	A middle ground between space and upkeep	Still some exterior maintenance, shared walls
Smaller detached house	Keeping independence and a yard, just less of it	You still handle all maintenance yourself
Retirement or adult lifestyle community	Social environment, age-specific amenities	Fees, rules and sometimes buy-in costs to check carefully

There is no universally right answer here. Some sellers want to fully hand off maintenance and love condo living. Others want to keep a small garden and some independence and a townhouse or smaller freehold suits them better. Being honest with yourself about how much hands-off living actually appeals to you, versus how much space and privacy you want to keep, will point you toward the right choice faster than comparing price tags alone.

Getting Your Home Ready to Sell

Downsizing usually means dealing with decades of belongings, which is often the most emotionally and physically demanding part of the whole process. Starting early makes a real difference.

• Begin decluttering room by room, three to six months before you plan to list if possible.
• Sort belongings into keep, sell, donate and give to family, rather than trying to decide item by item under time pressure.
• Get a pre-listing home inspection so there are no surprises once you are under contract.
• Talk to your agent about which repairs or updates are worth doing for your specific street and price point and which are not worth the money.

Consignment shops, auction houses for higher value items and donation centres can all make this part easier. Ask me which type suits what you are dealing with.

Tax and Legal Things to Confirm Before You List

Many Markham homeowners selling their principal residence will not owe capital gains tax on the sale, thanks to the principal residence exemption. But there are exceptions, particularly if you owned a second property at the same time, rented out part of your home or used part of it for business purposes. The CRA says the whole home can still qualify if the other use is secondary, there are no structural changes and no capital cost allowance was claimed. The sale must also be reported on your tax return even when the full exemption applies.

This is not something to guess about. Before you list, have a conversation with an accountant who can confirm exactly how the sale will be treated in your situation. It is a short conversation that can prevent an unpleasant surprise at tax time.

On the buying side, Ontario’s land transfer tax applies to your new purchase, calculated on a sliding scale based on price. Only the City of Toronto adds its own municipal land transfer tax on top of the provincial one, so a purchase in Markham carries the provincial tax only. You can see how it is calculated on the Ontario land transfer tax page. Your lawyer will confirm the exact amount once you have a purchase price in mind.

What to Do Next

If downsizing in Markham is something you are seriously considering, here is where to start this week:

1. Get a written comparative market analysis on your current home so you know your realistic starting number.
2. Spend an hour browsing listings for the type of home you think you want, condo, townhouse or smaller house, to see what your budget actually buys right now.
3. Book a call with an accountant to confirm how the principal residence exemption applies to your situation.
4. Start sorting one room of belongings into keep, sell, donate and family piles, just to get a feel for the scope of the task.
5. Decide roughly whether selling first, buying first or a longer closing date fits your comfort level with risk.

If you would like to talk through your specific situation, I am happy to help. I’m Kirby Chan and I work with Markham homeowners through exactly this kind of move all the time, from the first conversation about what your home is worth through to helping you settle into the next one. Reach out whenever you are ready, even if you are still a year away from listing. A short, no-pressure conversation now can save you a lot of guesswork later.