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Is Ajax or Whitby a good area to buy a home?

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Deal Expert
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Jul 30, 2007
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they bought this house in Oct 2013 and at that time, the builder has yet to implement major increase in the price listing until 2014. So, in a sense, they got a bit of a break. Normally, builder does not put any price increase in the fall and winter time, due to slow sales. Typically, big price increase will happen around Feb/Mar, once builder knows the new year's Development charges & levies increase by the city and region + the typical annual increase from the subtrades.

btw, very minimal upgrades were chosen by the purchasers.
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Jul 30, 2007
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Builder did not lose any $ on the house.

Note: Builder bought this subdivision (land) about 20 yrs ago ... imagine farmland and the prices back then with no new subdivisions were even built/present in the area.

mmhassa2 wrote: The house was completed just 3 months ago which means purchased approx 12 months ago as the builder takes a max of 9 months to build. I'm almost certain they're loosing money on this house..especially if you add the Realtor fees. Also the house is a walkout lot which means it cost them more than the standard pricing of the model.

Jokes apart with businesses hurting almost everywhere, and people spending less $$ I wouldn't be surprised to see more listings like this around GTA in the near future. I remember back in 2009 when we would see power of sale signs in quite a few houses around our old neighbourhood.
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Nov 9, 2007
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booblehead wrote: they bought this house in Oct 2013 and at that time, the builder has yet to implement major increase in the price listing until 2014. So, in a sense, they got a bit of a break. Normally, builder does not put any price increase in the fall and winter time, due to slow sales. Typically, big price increase will happen around Feb/Mar, once builder knows the new year's Development charges & levies increase by the city and region + the typical annual increase from the subtrades.

btw, very minimal upgrades were chosen by the purchasers.
Thanks :) Still seems like a very good/low price considering it was a walkout lot. All 41 ft lots have been sold correct?
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Jul 30, 2007
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^ Yup. only 30 ft lot left - about 10 and out of there !

Next Whitby and Oshawa and Stouffville and other part of Ajax again (possibly)
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Nov 9, 2007
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booblehead wrote: ^ Yup. only 30 ft lot left - about 10 and out of there !

Next Whitby and Oshawa and Stouffville and other part of Ajax again (possibly)
Other parts of ajax? Would definitely be interested and would appreciate a heads up when you have some more details :)
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whitby is already being marketed
Oshawa is in the planning stage
Stouffville is in the land purchasing (due diligence) stage
Other part of Ajax is in the possible site (land purchasing) stage. If this happens, then you are still looking at about 7 yrs into the future.
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Nov 9, 2007
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booblehead wrote: whitby is already being marketed
Oshawa is in the planning stage
Stouffville is in the land purchasing (due diligence) stage
Other part of Ajax is in the possible site (land purchasing) stage. If this happens, then you are still looking at about 7 yrs into the future.
Aha might work out perfectly as our mortgage is locked for 10 years and we have 7 left. lol Medallion does build beautiful homes, just needs to work on their after sales service...specifically P (wont say her name but Im sure you know who it is) needs to be able to handle after closing client's issues better than she has been. Almost everyone in ph5 we spoke to had issues with her being behind.
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^ Yup. One person doing/handling multiple projects for after sales service is not easy task.

Sorry to say.
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Dec 31, 2011
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Ajax
South Ajax in (Bayly and Audley) is booming. It's right by the Lake, very new homes, and now that John Boddy is developing there, prices in the neighborhood have increased dramatically.

In Durham, the North was always the place to be, but with the new developments in the South on Bayly and Harwood, the very close access to the future 407, the new pockets of beautiful homes, Ajax South is making big strides.
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Jun 18, 2007
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I just bought a house in North Oshawa, closing in April. It's pretty cheap from my perspective coming from Oakville. I just paid 435k, for a ~2000 sqft home on a 40 x 115 ft loot, well very well maintained home right across from a catholic elementary school. It's located on a higher elevation, so I can see the lake from our north facing window on a clear day.

Originally my wife and I had been targeting Whitby (particularly Brooklin), but it was becoming a bit too pricey. We were willing to go as high as 600k for a house we really liked but then we saw what we could get just a bit further out, it made more sense, especially with my wife starting to work in North Oshawa as well. I thought South Ajax was too busy and overcrowded. Houses were packed together like sardines in some parts.
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Jun 18, 2007
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I just bought a house in North Oshawa, closing in April. It's pretty cheap from my perspective coming from Oakville. I just paid 435k, for a ~2000 sqft home on a 40 x 115 ft loot, well very well maintained Halminen home right across from a catholic elementary school. It's located on a higher elevation, so I can see the lake from our north facing window on a clear day.

Originally my wife and I had been targeting Whitby (particularly Brooklin), but it was becoming a bit too pricey. We were willing to go as high as 600k for a house we really liked but then we saw what we could get just a bit further out, it made more sense, especially with my wife starting to work in North Oshawa as well. I thought South Ajax was too busy and overcrowded. Houses were packed together like sardines in some parts. I took a 40% paycut to come out to Durham region for a particular job that could lead to my dream job, and in the process had my wife also switch workplaces, so it feels nice to save some on housing and get a house that is a very good fit for us, that would be 100-300k more in Oakville.
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May 21, 2015
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York, ON
Does any one travel from Whitby to Downtown Toronto Daily? hows the commute like? i am think of buying a home there!
also are there any good hospitals around?
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Dec 5, 2009
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arifrasheed wrote: Does any one travel from Whitby to Downtown Toronto Daily? hows the commute like? i am think of buying a home there!
also are there any good hospitals around?
Check the GO schedule online.
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Mar 23, 2009
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chris647 wrote: Coming from someone who lives in Scarborough.... at least according to your profile. :confused:

I used to live in Scarborough - Kingston Rd & Midland Area and my commute from South Ajax is maybe 10 minutes longer... Wow, big deal breaker.

Thanks for your helpful comment.
Depends on where in Ajax, what time you're commuting, and where you're going, because for most people it's way longer than 10 minutes. More like 20 minutes or more. That can mean the difference between a 30 minute commute and a 50 minute commute.
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Apr 11, 2015
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Belleville, ON
arifrasheed wrote: Does any one travel from Whitby to Downtown Toronto Daily? hows the commute like? i am think of buying a home there!
also are there any good hospitals around?
I don't do this commute but I often take the GO Train from Whitby when I go downtown. Trip is about 45 min to an hour. You will also be packed in like a sardine if you commute at peak times.

One thing is though once GO completes electrification, etc the commute should get substantially better. The trains will be more frequent and travel times greatly reduced. This is some years off though.
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Jul 6, 2005
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arifrasheed wrote: Does any one travel from Whitby to Downtown Toronto Daily? hows the commute like? i am think of buying a home there!
also are there any good hospitals around?
Unfortunately, I do.

I've been doing it for the better part of 10 years (ugh, that's so sad).

I'm in Brooklin, so I drive through Whitby to get to the Whitby GO station.

When I used to work at University/College, I would just walk up University to my office from Union Station. Now I work at Yonge/Bloor and I take TTC subway from Union Station... it's actually the same time. About 1 hour and 45 minutes door-to-door. With the latest delays we've been experiencing on the GO trains the past few weeks that commute time has gone as long as 3 hours door-to-door. I take the morning and afternoon express trains too (which are usually packed). At least, getting on in Whitby in the morning, you're pretty much guaranteed a seat (unlike Pickering). But in the afternoon you need to get to the train at least 5 mins before departure to get a seat. Also, leaving the Whitby GO parking lot (North or South sides) is a bit of a nightmare, usually adding 5 to 10 minutes to your commute just to leave the lot... hence why you usually see people making a mad dash from the train to their cars.

But hey, housing WAS cheap out here. I wouldn't recommend it nowadays, because Whitby (and moreso Brooklin) are stupid expensive now, especially with the 407 extension nearing completion and you can buy equivalent-priced housing closer to the city.

However, if you WORK in Durham region (or even York Region), Whitby is by far the best value and you'd be laughing.... that is definitely my next move, finding work closer to home. The lustre of the 'downtown working life' has long worn off, especially now that I have kids and value my time a lot more.

Edit: (forgot to answer your question about hospitals)

Yes, you have your pick between Oshawa or Port Perry as part of the Lakeridge Health group of hospitals within reasonable driving distance. Port Perry's ER is fantastic for quick processing. Are you in the Healthcare industry too, by any chance?
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Mar 23, 2009
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Wow impressive. If I had a 3.5 hour commute each day (and that's on a good day), I would gone insane in the first month.
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May 17, 2006
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EugW wrote: Wow impressive. If I had a 3.5 hour commute each day (and that's on a good day), I would gone insane in the first month.
How long do you think it takes someone who lives at lawrence n bayview or even say donmills and yorkmills to get to yonge and bloor?!?!
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Aug 11, 2006
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Hate to necro a thread but anyone recommend a driving route from Westney/Kingston area to Kennedy Station in Scarborough?

Looking to cut GO cost by driving into the 'city' and taking TTC to downtown instead.
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Apr 22, 2014
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401/Kingston/Eglinton. Get Waze on your phone.
iam_immigrant wrote: Hate to necro a thread but anyone recommend a driving route from Westney/Kingston area to Kennedy Station in Scarborough?

Looking to cut GO cost by driving into the 'city' and taking TTC to downtown instead.

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