How does a renovation impact home prices in the Greater Toronto Area?

A renovation can add value to a home but the amount depends on the location in the Greater Toronto Area.

More than half (64 per cent) of potential home buyers look for renovated homes rather than fixer-uppers, a survey from digital real estate brokerage Wahi found last year.

But how much more is that new renovation worth?

In a new study, Wahi looked at how renovations can influence the price of a home.

To do so, Wahi analyzed nearly 100,000 listings for single-family homes that sold throughout the GTA between the beginning of 2023 and the end of the first quarter of 2025. Wahi compared sale prices for those listings that mentioned renovations and those that did not.

Wahi found that GTA-wide, the median price for renovated homes was $1,200,000, compared to $1,152,000 — a difference of $48,000, or roughly four per cent.

“The latest Wahi analysis gives us an idea, in broad terms, of the premium that homebuyers put on renovated homes,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen. “However, every home is different. How much more a renovated home sells for depends on myriad variables, including local market conditions, quality and style of the build, and overall investment, to name a few.”

Where the home is located in the GTA appears to be a factor.

On a percentage basis, the City of Toronto had the biggest pricing difference between renovated and non-renovated homes in the region, Wahi found.

The median price of a renovated home was $1,339,000 in Toronto. That’s $89,000 higher than the median price for non-renovated homes ($1,250,000), representing a difference of approximately seven per cent, Wahi found.

“This makes sense, given Toronto’s single-family housing stock is older than those of the surrounding suburban regions, where there are newer developments to choose from,” Wahi said in the report.

In other parts of the GTA, renovated single-family homes sold for about two to five per cent more than dwellings without any listed improvements — with one exception. In York region, there was not a significant difference in pricing between renovated ($1,368,000) and non-renovated ($1,370,000) single-family homes.

The room or part of the home renovated likely also has an impact. In Wahi’s 2024 survey, the most sought-after feature of a home was the backyard but a renovated kitchen or bathroom also ranked highly.

A recent Re/Max report found some of the top changes for the best return on a home investment are painting, a kitchen renovation and a bathroom renovation.

Wahi noted that their study didn’t take into account the types of home-improvement projects that sellers did before putting their property on the market, only that there is reference to a renovation of some type in the listing.

A renovation could include anything from a full restoration project or a redone powder room. Some 66 per cent of GTA listings that have sold since 2023 made reference to some form of renovation.

See the full report from Wahi here.

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