Markham Neighbourhoods for Downsizing, by Property Type

The short answer

Downsizers moving within Markham usually ask us the same question first: which neighbourhood should we look at. The honest answer is that it depends on the property type you want, because condo apartments, townhomes and smaller detached homes are not spread evenly across the city. Our downsizing guide for Markham walks through the full process, from deciding whether it is time to sequencing two closings. This post goes deeper on one part of that guide: where each type of smaller housing actually shows up.

Below is a note on where to find current prices, followed by a closer look at each area and the smaller housing it offers.

Checking current prices by neighbourhood

TRREB publishes market reports every month in its Market Watch at trreb.ca, along with quarterly Community Housing Market Reports for individual Markham communities. Figures change monthly and vary by property type and neighbourhood, so compare current listings for the specific areas and property types you are considering.

Where condo apartments concentrate

Condo apartments are the smallest maintenance load of the three property types and they cluster in three parts of the city.

Downtown Markham has the largest concentration of newer condo towers in the city, along with stacked and executive townhomes and a small number of detached homes on the edges. Read the Downtown Markham neighbourhood guide for more on the area.

Unionville has mid-rise condos along the Highway 7 corridor, closer to Downtown Markham than to the historic core. Details are in the Unionville neighbourhood guide.

Thornhill, on the Markham side, has condo apartments along its main corridors alongside its older detached housing stock. More on the area is in the Thornhill neighbourhood guide.

Wismer also has some condo apartment stock. See the Wismer neighbourhood guide.

Where townhomes concentrate

Townhomes, whether freehold or condo, give up some of the maintenance reduction of a condo apartment in exchange for more space and often a small yard.

Cornell has the broadest townhome supply of any neighbourhood covered on this site, built on a grid with rear lane garages. The Cornell neighbourhood guide covers the layout and the hospital nearby.

Berczy Village and Wismer both have freehold townhome stock from the late 1990s and early 2000s onward. See the Berczy Village neighbourhood guide and the Wismer neighbourhood guide.

Greensborough has heavy freehold and stacked townhome supply near Mount Joy GO, plus some condo townhouses. The Greensborough neighbourhood guide has more detail.

Angus Glen also has freehold townhouse stock. The Angus Glen neighbourhood guide covers the golf club and community centre.

Markham Village is mostly detached housing, so townhomes there are harder to find. Read the Markham Village neighbourhood guide.

Cathedraltown has some freehold townhouse stock as well. See the Cathedraltown neighbourhood guide.

Where smaller detached homes and bungalows turn up

TRREB does not report a separate bungalow category, so bungalow prices fall inside each area’s detached figures rather than appearing on their own. Older bungalows and smaller detached homes are more common in neighbourhoods with older housing stock than in the newer north Markham subdivisions.

Markham Village has 1960s through 1990s detached homes and bungalows on generally deeper lots than newer parts of the city, alongside its century homes near Main Street.

Thornhill, on the Markham side, has the oldest volume housing stock in Markham, mostly from the 1950s through the 1980s, including bungalows and side splits.

Unionville also has some older detached homes and bungalows in its mature residential belt, north and east of the historic core, distinct from the newer condo stock closer to Highway 7.

Neighbourhoods with newer housing stock, such as Cornell, Berczy Village, Wismer, Greensborough, Cathedraltown and Box Grove, are built mostly from the mid 1990s onward and have little to no bungalow supply, since two-storey construction has been the more common format in Markham for several decades. The Box Grove neighbourhood guide and Milliken Mills neighbourhood guide cover two more areas worth a look: Box Grove has some freehold townhouses and Milliken Mills East has some condo apartments.

What I check when comparing neighbourhoods

When I tour areas with downsizing clients, the neighbourhood name matters less than how daily life will work in the home itself. These are the questions I ask for every shortlist:

• Stairs. Count the steps from the driveway or parking to the front door and from the main floor to the bedroom. Many townhomes put the primary bedroom on the second or third floor.
• Elevators. In a condo building, ask how many elevators serve your floor and how the building handles repairs, since a single elevator out of service can strand residents on upper floors.
• Walkability. Walk the route to the nearest grocery store, pharmacy and bus stop or GO station yourself, ideally in winter conditions.
• Health care. Note the drive to Markham Stouffville Hospital and to your family doctor, especially if you expect more appointments in the years ahead.
• Condo documents. Review the monthly fee and what it covers and read the status certificate before you firm up an offer. Our post on the condo status certificate explains what to look for.
• Other ownership models. If buying outright does not fit, life lease housing in Markham is another option worth understanding.

What to do next

If you are still deciding whether it is time to downsize or you want the full process from decluttering through closing, start with our downsizing guide for Markham, which covers land transfer tax, the principal residence exemption and Markham’s seniors property tax programmes alongside the property type breakdown.

If you already have a sense of the neighbourhood or property type you want, our sellers page explains how we sequence a sale with a purchase so you are not carrying two properties at once. When you are ready to talk through your own move, contact Kirby Chan & Co. and we can go through the numbers for the specific areas and property types you are considering.