Buying in the GTA
A clear, no-pressure guide to what buying actually costs and looks like in Toronto and the surrounding GTA — and how Emad helps at each step.
- 1
Get pre-approved
Before touring homes, Emad can connect you with trusted mortgage professionals so you know your real budget, your rate, and can move quickly on the right property. A pre-approval also tells you what a lender will actually lend against a given property, which matters once you get to the appraisal stage below.
- 2
Define your search
Neighbourhood, commute, schools, property type — Emad narrows the GTA market down to what actually fits your life and budget, then sets up alerts so new matches reach you before they're gone.
- 3
Tour & evaluate
Emad walks every property with you, flagging resale considerations, condo status certificate red flags, and building or unit issues most buyers miss on their own.
- 4
Offer & negotiation
In a competitive GTA market, offer strategy matters as much as price — conditions, deposit size, closing date, and how an offer is presented all affect whether it's accepted. Emad builds that strategy around your actual risk tolerance, not a generic template.
- 5
Conditions, inspection & financing
If your offer includes a financing or inspection condition, this is where it gets satisfied: home inspection booked, status certificate reviewed by your lawyer (condos), and your lender's firm approval confirmed — including the appraisal, if the lender requires one.
- 6
Closing
Your lawyer handles the legal closing — title search, mortgage registration, tax and utility adjustments — while Emad coordinates the final walkthrough and key handoff so nothing falls through the cracks on possession day.
Ontario land transfer tax — and Toronto's second one
Every property purchase in Ontario is subject to provincial Land Transfer Tax (LTT), calculated on a marginal, bracket basis against the purchase price: roughly 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1.0% on the portion up to $250,000, 1.5% up to $400,000, and 2.0% above that (higher again for single-family residential purchases above $2 million). It's paid on closing, and your lawyer calculates and remits it as part of the transaction — you never write a separate cheque for it yourself.
If you're buying anywhere within the City of Toronto's boundaries, you owe a second, municipal land transfer taxon top of the provincial one — Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario that charges its own. Toronto's MLTT broadly mirrors the provincial brackets up to $400,000, then adds progressively higher tiers for luxury properties. In practice, that roughly doubles your total land transfer tax bill versus an identical purchase in Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, or Oakville — a real cost difference worth factoring into your budget when you're comparing a Toronto property against a 905-area alternative.
First-time buyers get real relief on both. Ontario offers a rebate of up to $4,000 off the provincial LTT for qualifying first-time buyers, and Toronto offers a comparable rebate against its municipal LTT — between the two, many first-time buyers below a certain price point pay little or no land transfer tax at all. Exact thresholds and rebate caps are set by the province and the city and do shift over time, so Emad and your lawyer will confirm the current numbers against your specific purchase price before you rely on them.
What closing costs actually add up to
Beyond the purchase price and your down payment, budget for: land transfer tax(es) as above, legal fees (typically in the $1,500–$2,500+ range depending on the transaction), title insurance, a home inspection if you order one, an appraisal if your lender requires one, a Tarion enrollment fee on new builds, and closing-day adjustments — your share of prepaid property tax, utilities, or condo fees the seller has already paid for the period after closing. A common rule of thumb is to budget an additional 1.5–4% of the purchase price for closing costs on top of your down payment, with Toronto purchases sitting toward the higher end because of the municipal land transfer tax.
Financing, appraisals, and firm approval
A pre-approval gives you a budget and a held rate, but it isn't a guarantee — once you have an accepted offer, your lender moves to firm approval, which is where an appraisal can come in. If the purchase price looks high relative to comparable sales, the lender will order an appraisal to confirm the property supports the mortgage amount; if it appraises below the purchase price, you may need to cover the gap with a larger down payment. This is one of the reasons a financing condition on your offer matters even if you're confident in your pre-approval.
Condos: read the status certificate before you waive conditions
For any condo purchase, your lawyer should review the current status certificate before your conditions come off — it discloses the building's reserve fund balance and adequacy, any pending or planned special assessments, ongoing litigation involving the corporation, and the rules governing rentals, pets, and renovations. A healthy-looking unit can still be a poor purchase if the building's reserve fund is underfunded or a large assessment is already planned; this review is standard practice, not an extra precaution.
Common questions
How much do I actually need for a down payment in Ontario?
Minimum down payment in Canada is 5% on the first $500,000 of the purchase price, 10% on the portion between $500,000 and $1.5 million, and 20% on anything above $1.5 million. Anything below 20% down requires mortgage default insurance (CMHC or a private insurer), which adds a premium to your mortgage. Note this is separate from your deposit (below) — the down payment is settled at closing, the deposit is paid almost immediately after your offer is accepted.
What's a normal deposit size in the GTA, and when is it due?
Convention across the GTA is a deposit of roughly 5% of the purchase price, submitted by certified cheque or bank draft within 24 hours of an accepted offer — held in trust by the listing brokerage until closing, when it's credited toward your down payment. In a multiple-offer situation, or for new construction sold directly by a builder, deposits are frequently larger (sometimes staged in several installments for pre-construction) — Emad will tell you what's realistic for a specific listing before you write an offer.
Do I need a home inspection?
It's not legally required, but skipping one is a real risk — especially on resale houses, where issues like knob-and-tube wiring, foundation movement, or an aging roof aren't always visible on a showing. On condos, a general home inspector has limited value since most building-wide issues (reserve fund health, pending special assessments, litigation) live in the status certificate instead, which is why that document gets reviewed by a real estate lawyer rather than an inspector.
What is TARION and does it apply to my purchase?
TARION is Ontario's mandatory new home warranty program. If you're buying a newly built home or condo directly from a licensed builder/vendor (not a resale from a private seller), your purchase is automatically enrolled — it covers deposit protection if the builder fails to close, compensation for an unreasonably delayed closing, and statutory warranty coverage on defects for one, two, and seven years after possession, depending on the type of defect. It does not apply to resale purchases between private individuals.
General information current as of 2026, not legal, tax, or financial advice — land transfer tax rates, rebate thresholds, and lending rules can change. Confirm current figures for your specific purchase with your lawyer, mortgage professional, and Emad.