CLOSING COSTS IN TORONTO
The bill that arrives on top of your down payment.
Budget 4% for closing costs but hope for less. These are separate from everything you've been saving. Here's the costs you can expect, including one almost nobody budgets for.
The house always wins. Make sure it's yours.
I sell real estate. You'd expect me to tell you renting is throwing money away. I won't, because it isn't that simple.
Renting buys you flexibility, no exposure to a special assessment, no responsibility for a furnace, and the ability to leave on sixty days' notice. Those are real benefits, and for a lot of people right now they're worth more than a bit of equity.
The one thing renting can never do is leave you owning something. Every payment is spent in full — none of it is kept. That's not a reason to buy tomorrow. It's just the fact worth considering while you decide.
Here are the major closing costs you can expect
Most of them unavaoidable, ranked roughly by size for a typical condo purchase.
Land transfer tax
The big one, and the reason closing costs scale with price. Ontario charges it on every purchase. If you're buying in the City of Toronto you pay a second, municipal one on top. First-time buyers can receive rebates: up to $4,000 provincially and up to $4,475 municipally.
$4,000–$27,000
Scales with price
Adjustments
The seller may have prepaid property tax or condo fees beyond the closing date, so you reimburse them for your share.
$500–$2,000
Depends on closing date
Sales tax on your mortgage insurance
The one that catches people out. If you put down less than 20%, the CMHC premium gets added to your mortgage — but the provincial sales tax on that premium must be paid in cash on closing day.
$1,500–$2,500
Only if under 20% down
Title insurance
A one-time premium protecting against title defects, fraud and survey issues. Most lenders require it.
$250–$500
One-time
Legal fees and disbursements
Your lawyer handles the transfer, registers the mortgage, searches title, and reviews the condo status certificate. Disbursements cover searches and registration.
$2,000–$3,000
Including disbursements
Status certificate
Resale condos only. The corporation charges a fixed fee for the disclosure package covering the budget, reserve fund, litigation and possible special assessments.
$115
Fee is capped
New construction extras
Pre-construction condos are an entirely different category and the closing costs depend heavily on what your contract says, but expect many additional fees like: HST Rebate, development charges, section 37 levies, Tarion enrolment, and utility hookups. Ask whether these fees are capped before you sign.
$50,000–$100,000+
Check your agreement
Is renting more affordable than owning?
Most rent-vs-buy calculators are sales tools. This one counts condo fees, property tax, interest and rent increases — and it will tell you when renting is the better call.
Part of every mortgage payment is principal — you're moving money from your chequing account into your own equity. It leaves your bank, but it doesn't leave you. Only the interest is actually spent.
Disclaimer — estimates only. Uses standard Canadian mortgage math (semi-annual compounding), current CMHC premium tiers and published Ontario and Toronto land transfer tax rates. This is not a mortgage approval, a quote, or financial advice. Actual figures depend on your income, credit, lender, closing date and the specific property. Confirm everything with a licensed mortgage professional and a real estate lawyer before making an offer.
FIRST-TIME BUYER EXAMPLE
Toronto Condo Closing Cost Estimate
A $600,000 condo bought in Toronto with a 10% down-payment for a first-time buyer.
Note: The closing costs would be about 30% less if you bought outside of Toronto due to the double land transfer tax applicable in Toronto.
Three things worth doing
Budget 4%, hope for less. If you're saving toward a purchase, treat closing costs as part of the target rather than an afterthought. A buyer who saves exactly the down payment discovers this gap at the worst possible moment — after the offer is firm.
Ask your lawyer for a written estimate before you make an offer, not after. Most will provide one in a few minutes, and it turns a range into a number you can plan against.
On pre-construction, ask whether levies are capped — in writing, before you sign. This single question can be worth five figures, and the answer is negotiable more often than buyers realize.
One thing this page doesn't cover: interim occupancy fees on pre-construction. Those aren't closing costs — they're the months of payments you make to the builder before you legally own the unit, and none of it builds equity. More on that here.
Estimates only. Land transfer tax rates, first-time buyer rebate maximums and the provincial sales tax rate on mortgage insurance are set by government and change. Legal fees, adjustments and builder levies vary by lawyer, closing date and agreement. This is general information, not legal or financial advice — confirm your actual figures with a real estate lawyer and your mortgage professional before closing.
Know the number before you offer.
Fifteen minute to go through your specific situation — price, city, down payment, and whether you'd qualify for both rebates.
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