Christie Pits

Your Typical Neighbour

Comes from a wide variety of backgrounds, with a greater chance of Asian and European ethnicity. More likely to be a younger double-income family.

What We Love

We love Christie Pits’ long term growth potential set amongst convenient recreation, delicious and inexpensive international cuisine and a foodie’s choice grocery store right on the subway line.

What We Don’t Love

Most of the streets are narrow and one-way. Plus the rough history of the neighbourhood isn’t entirely gone yet – as always when you buy ahead of the curve, you need to be patient.

The Real Estate Scoop

We think this is one of the better real estate bets in the city. Sitting on a subway line makes any neighbourhood a safer wager in a transit-stretched city, and when you look at some of the neighbouring affluent areas bursting at the seams with frustrated buyers (Seaton Village, Little Italy), it’s easy to see where the next expansion is likely to spill over to.

This neighbourhood no longer sees the turnover it once did in years past. It has become an established, mature area unto itself, and the gentrification push west is lending upward pressure to the cost of houses in this neighbourhood. This is also a relatively low-density neighbourhood given it’s comprised almost exclusively of semi and detached homes.

Houses here were built mainly in the early 1900s. Most of the semi and detached homes are of moderate size having been designed for the largely working-class residents up until the mid 1930s. These moderately-sized homes remain attractive to prospective first-time homebuyers looking for something close to the core. This is also one of those aesthetically pleasing communities that benefit from the bulk of garages being located off of rear laneways, leaving nothing but front porches and mature trees as the visual backdrop.

Be careful when looking to purchase here to check the state of the foundation of the house. Walking north on Shaw recently there remain some homes that have suffered over time from the soft sand and gravel native to the area. Some of this street is known for the leaning houses that grow closer to one another as you look further up the roofline. I know we’ve said it before, but get an inspection!

Schools

This is a family oriented neighbourhood, and consequently schools nearby are popular and well supported.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Hawthorne II Alternative Bilingual School
St. Raymond Catholic School
Essex Junior and Senior Public School
École élémentaire catholique du Sacré-Coeur

SENIOR SCHOOLS

Essex Junior and Senior Public School

Transit

The Christie Pits subway is right outside your door, with bus options down Ossington. Drivers have Bloor Street handy for an inter city commute, though it can be busy at rush hour and time-consuming to get out of the city core.