The Short Answer
It depends on what "investment" means to you, and the numbers point in different directions. Over ten years, Markham's average condominium apartment price rose about 62% against about 16% for detached homes, though condos started from a much lower base. Since the February 2022 peak, both have fallen by almost exactly the same amount, about 24%. As a rental, an average Markham condo bought with 20% down is likely to be cash-flow negative by roughly $580 to $650 a month against a typical two-bedroom rent. And the insured mortgage rate most people quote does not apply to an investment condo. Detached homes carry land and scarcity, but they need about $322,000 down.
Want this applied to your own property? Call the Kaizen Real Estate Team at (647) 370-8885.
What the Price History Shows
Average prices from TRREB's monthly reports for Markham:
Month | Detached | Condo apartment |
|---|---|---|
August 2016 | $1,389,991 | $394,153 |
August 2021 | $1,700,951 | $695,109 |
February 2022 (peak) | $2,126,548 | $840,890 |
August 2026 | $1,611,773 | $638,332 |
Change to August 2026 | Detached | Condo apartment |
|---|---|---|
From the February 2022 peak | ā24.2% | ā24.1% |
Five years (from August 2021) | ā5.2% | ā8.2% |
Ten years (from August 2016) | +16.0% | +62.0% |
Three honest caveats. A single month's average depends on which homes happened to sell, so these figures are directional. February and August are different seasons. And August 2016 came just before the 2017 spike in detached prices, which flatters the condo comparison.
One figure that barely moved: the dollar gap between an average detached home and an average condo was about $996,000 in 2016 and about $973,000 now. As a ratio, though, detached went from about 3.5 times the price of a condo to about 2.5 times.
Michael John Lau, a REALTORĀ® with the Kaizen Real Estate Team, one of the most active real estate teams in Markham and York Region, puts it simply: the ten-year condo number looks strong, but the last four years have been identical for both. Past appreciation is not a plan.
Questions About Your Situation?
Every Markham property and every timeline is different. Call the Kaizen Real Estate Team at (647) 370-8885 and speak to a REALTORĀ® who works this market daily.
The Condo as a Rental: The Real Arithmetic
The rate correction first
Mortgage default insurance through CMHC requires the buyer to live in the home. An investment condo is not eligible, so the insured five-year rate of about 4.24% does not apply. Use the uninsured rate, about 4.51% in mid-September 2026, with at least 20% down.
Illustrative monthly cost, average Markham condo at $638,332
Item | Monthly |
|---|---|
Down payment, 20% | $127,666 up front |
Mortgage, $510,666 at 4.51% over 25 years | $2,829 |
Property tax (illustrative; see note) | About $237 |
Condo fee, assumed 700 sq ft at 75 to 85 cents | $525 to $595 |
Total before insurance, vacancy and repairs | About $3,591 to $3,661 |
Note on property tax: Markham's rate applies to the MPAC assessed value, which is frozen at 2016 values, not to the price you pay. The figure above uses the 2016 average condo price as a stand-in and is only an illustration. The condo fee range is a practitioner rule of thumb for the Greater Toronto Area, not a Markham average.
Against the rent
Rent basis | Monthly rent | Monthly cash flow | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|
GTA two-bedroom condo, Q2 2026 | $3,013 | ā$578 to ā$648 | 5.7% |
GTA one-bedroom condo, Q2 2026 | $2,273 | ā$1,318 to ā$1,388 | 4.3% |
Listing-based Markham rent figures from aggregators run lower still, around $1,950 for a one-bedroom and $2,350 for a two-bedroom, but they mix in basement units and older rentals, so treat them as a floor rather than a condo benchmark.
About $11,000 of the first year's payments go to principal, which is equity rather than a cost. Even counting that, the property is not paying for itself at these numbers.
This matches the last published industry analysis: Urbanation and CIBC found 77% of leveraged investors in GTA condos completed in 2023 were cash-flow negative, averaging about $597 a month, rising to 81% in the first half of 2024. No newer edition of that analysis has been published.
The Detached Home as an Investment
- Entry cost. At the August 2026 average of $1,611,773, the home is above the $1.5 million insured cap, so 20% down, about $322,355, applies whether you live there or not.
- Carrying cost. A $1,289,418 mortgage at 4.51% over 25 years is about $7,144 a month before tax, insurance and maintenance.
- Land. The part of a detached home that does not depreciate. It is also the part Markham is not adding more of.
- Rental options. A whole-house rental, or a legal second suite. Reliable Markham rent data for detached houses and legal basement suites is not published, so no yield is given here rather than guessing at one.
Neeraj Moolchandani on the Rate Investors Get Wrong
Neeraj Moolchandani, REALTORĀ® at Kaizen Real Estate, corrects one assumption before any investment numbers are run: the insured mortgage rate people see advertised does not apply to a rental condo.
Mortgage insurance requires the owner to live in the home, so an investor needs at least 20 percent down and an uninsured rate. Neeraj runs every rental projection at that rate, because the difference can turn a small positive into a clear negative.
Supply Tilts the Long-Run Argument
Markham completed about 1,955 new homes in 2024, and nearly 93% of them were higher-density units, according to the City's growth reporting. Thousands more apartment units sit in the application pipeline along Highway 7, in Markham Centre and at Yonge and Steeles.
Very little of that pipeline adds ground-related housing in Berczy Village, Wismer Commons, Unionville, Markham Village or Cornell. A condo investor is competing with a growing supply of similar units. A detached owner is not. That is not a forecast, but it is the structural difference between the two.
Weighing an Investment Property?
Past appreciation is not a plan. The Kaizen Real Estate Team runs the monthly numbers on a specific property before you sign.
How to Actually Decide
If your priority is | Leans toward | Because |
|---|---|---|
Lower entry cost | Condo | About $128,000 down against about $322,000 |
Monthly cash flow | Neither, at 20% down and today's rates | The condo arithmetic above is negative; detached rent data is not reliable enough to model |
Scarcity and land | Detached | Ground-related supply is constrained; apartment supply is not |
Simplicity | Condo | Exterior and common areas are managed, though fees and special assessments carry their own risk |
Flexibility of use | Detached | Room for family, a second suite, or future redevelopment |
Tax, briefly
A rental property is not your principal residence, so a gain on sale is taxable. The capital gains inclusion rate is 50% for 2026. An accountant should be part of this decision before you buy, not after.
The landlord rules just changed
Anyone buying to rent should also read Ontario's new rental rules, which took effect on 21 September 2026. If you are weighing a new build against resale, the new versus resale cost comparison covers that side.
Next Steps
- Markham investment property guidance ā the numbers run on a specific property.
- Markham condominiums ā current options and pricing.
- Run the mortgage calculator ā at the uninsured rate, with your own down payment.