New analysis has found the top 10 condo buildings in the Greater Toronto Area with the most and least expensive median monthly condo fees, including insights into how fees range around the region.

Digital real estate platform, Wahi, ranked condo buildings based on maintenance fees for one-bedroom units that were sold between 2021 and 2023. The report established a median monthly payment for thousands of multi-family buildings throughout the GTA and includes the age of each building and a list of its amenities, which factor into the price.

“For homebuyers who are considering buying a condo, maintenance fees are an important factor to consider when figuring out their budgets,” said Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen. “Wahi’s latest study provides a ballpark estimate of what condo owners can expect to pay at different price points in the GTA market.”

Buildings had to have a minimum of three sales over the study period to be included in the rankings. A three-year period was chosen to maximize the number of buildings that would meet this threshold as well as provide a more relevant median figure based on more transactions. Condo townhomes were excluded from the rankings.

A variety of factors were known to influence maintenance fees, such as the size of a building’s reserve fund as well as the exact square footage of each unit, and Wahi was unable to take these into account as this information is not consistently provided in listings

Highest fees

An estimated 13 GTA condo buildings had a median monthly maintenance fee in excess of $1,000 per month. The top 10 most expensive buildings for fees were predominantly concentrated within older luxury buildings in downtown Toronto, with only one located outside of the city’s limits, in Oakville.

Older buildings typically have larger floor plans and have heat and hydro rolled into fees, which can skew fees higher. Meanwhile, a luxury building with lots of fancy amenities costs more to maintain.

The Residences of the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons Private Residences topped the list at $2,268 and $1,561, respectively. The Granary in Oakville, came in third place with an average monthly maintenance fee of $1,440.

Lowest fees

The least expensive maintenance fees were mainly located beyond Toronto’s core, in Milton and Oakville, as well as more suburban parts of Toronto, such as Scarborough and North York. They were built within the last several years, with the majority completed between 2018 and 2022.

The top three condos with the lowest fees include Origin Condominiums’ two towers in Milton at ($217 and $241). SweetLife Condos in Scarborough came in third at $237.

Comparing across the GTA

The lowest median local maintenance fee for 2023 was found in Milton, which was also home to two of the three condo buildings with the least expensive maintenance fees in the region.

Newmarket had the highest median maintenance fee. To look at how maintenance fees range throughout the region, the analysis compared the median one-bedroom fee for 2023 in 24 towns and cities in the GTA, as well as the six former boroughs of Toronto.

Brock, East Gwillimbury, and Halton Hills did not have sufficient sales activity to measure maintenance fees. With a larger pool of sales to examine when looking at the entire region rather than specific buildings, the study focused on a single year so that year-over-year changes to maintenance fees would not skew the results (some condo boards froze increases during the pandemic).

The mix of units that sell can also influence the median. If luxury sales are concentrated in a smaller market, the median may appear higher than what’s reflective of the market average.