If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a home on the Toronto Islands, now is your chance.
Prospective home buyers can currently put their names down on the Purchasers’ List, which only opens every two years for a four-week period.
The form is available on the Toronto Islands Residential Community Trust Corporation’s website and includes a $20 non-refundable application fee, which goes toward the administrative costs of running the draw.
“We have 27 spots available. Obviously there’s going to be more than 27 people interested in those spots, so what we do is we hold a draw,” explains Alison Rogers, chair of the trust’s board.
Under the Toronto Islands Residential Community Stewardship Act, the trust is required to create a waiting list for potential purchasers of Island homes and land leases. The list, which was established in 1994, allows a maximum of 500 names.
There are 262 homes on the islands in total.
“The first 27 names that are drawn will be added to the end of the list in the order that they’re drawn, and everyone else will have to try again in two years,” Rogers said.
By law, homes and leases can only be sold to people on the list. According to the trust, in the last 30 years, 70 island homes have been sold. The price of the homes is set by an appraiser, which is typically lower than market value. The average house on the islands is in the $150,000 – $400,000 range, not including the one-time lease cost.
The purchase price of the lease is approximately $60,000 on Ward’s Island and $78,000 on Algonquin Island.
“There are no bidding wars,” Rogers said.
When a house and lease come up for sale, the trust usually sends offers to the top 150 to 250 people on the list.
“If the first person on the wait list bids, then they would get to purchase the house,” she said.
Rogers said there are four upcoming properties set to be sold.
She says there is no way to predict how many houses will come up for sale and acknowledges the potential of a decades-long wait with no opportunity to buy.
However, Rogers said the population of the islands is aging.
“It does seem to be moving faster. There seems to be an uptick,” she said.
“I have lived here all my life. I grew up on the island and I count myself lucky every single day,” Rogers said, noting it is common that people with a coveted island home choose to leave it to a spouse or child.
The city plans to spend millions of dollars over the next decade to improve access to Toronto island, and one councillor wants that to include construction of a new pedestrian bridge. CBC’s Shawn Jeffords has more on Toronto’s 25-year plan for the island.
‘We feel very lucky to live here’
Elana White has lived on the island for around 20 years. She says her husband bought their home before the list and legislation was established.
“Island houses at that point were going for the same price as city houses,” White said, adding she believes that the list is a fair process.
“Island houses are not just going to go to the highest bidder,” she said. “The intention was to make it a year-round community, not vacation homes for wealthy people.”
White says while many of her neighbours have stayed the same over the years, there are a few younger families who have settled there recently.
“The idea of new people coming into the community is always exciting,” she said.
“We feel very lucky to live here. You never get tired of the view or the surroundings.”
The deadline to apply is Oct. 29 at 4 p.m.