Etobicoke Estates, 46-52 Old Burnhamthorpe Rd: 17 Townhouses from 1978

Etobicoke Estates is about as small as a Toronto condominium corporation gets: 17 townhouses on a short side road off Burnhamthorpe, registered in 1978. The name promises more than the paperwork shows, and that is the point of this review. In a corporation this size, every decision and every repair bill is shared among very few owners. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Seventeen owners, one budget

Most condominium buyers never think about how many owners share the bills. In a 300-suite tower it hardly matters. In a 17-home townhouse corporation it is the whole story. A new roof, a repaved driveway or a drainage repair is split 17 ways, so each owner’s share can be large, and a single owner who falls behind on fees has a visible effect on the budget.

Small corporations can run very well. Owners tend to know each other, decisions can be quick, and there is less room for overhead. But they can also drift, with a board of two or three volunteers doing everything and no professional manager to keep the paperwork current.

Condos.ca lists no property manager for YCC-410. That may simply mean the information is missing, or the corporation may be self-managed. Ask the listing agent directly, and ask who prepares the status certificate and the annual budget. The answer tells you a lot about how the corporation is run.

What the 1978 registration means

YCC-410 was registered on 25 August 1978, barely a decade after Ontario passed its first condominium law. Islington Place in north Etobicoke, YCC-409, was registered three days earlier, which gives a sense of how many townhouse complexes were being created across the old suburb at the time.

A complex this age has had more than 45 years to replace its original roofs, windows, doors and paving. Some will be on their second cycle, some on their third. The reserve fund study should list each component, its expected life and the money set aside for it. Under Ontario rules, corporations must have a reserve fund study done and updated on a regular schedule, so ask for the most recent one and its date.

If the study is old, or the fund looks thin relative to the work ahead, expect higher fees or a special assessment, and factor that into your offer. With only 17 homes, there is no large pool of owners to absorb a surprise.

Insurance is the other line to watch. Building insurance premiums for condominium corporations have risen in recent years, and a small corporation has little room to absorb the increase. Look at the budget for the current and previous year and see how much the insurance line has moved.

The address and the road

Old Burnhamthorpe Road is a short local road near the busy main road it is named after. The name suggests an earlier alignment of Burnhamthorpe Road, though I could not confirm that from the records I checked. Burnhamthorpe itself has a long history: it began as a concession road, became a toll plank road in 1846, and takes its name from a village in what is now Mississauga.

For a buyer, the practical point is that a side-road address usually means less traffic noise than a home fronting Burnhamthorpe or Renforth. Visit at rush hour anyway, and check how easily you can turn onto the main roads.

Condos.ca records the homes as one storey, which is how its database lists most townhouse complexes, and publishes no size range. Measure the home, ask whether the basement is finished and included in the stated area, and find out whether parking is a private garage, a driveway or a shared lot.

Daily life near Burnhamthorpe and Renforth

This is west-central Etobicoke, a settled area of postwar houses on wide lots, with most errands done by car. Centennial Park, one of the city’s largest, lies to the north beyond Rathburn Road, with sports fields, trails and indoor recreation.

The bigger change is on Eglinton. The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension is under construction, with Renforth as its planned western terminus, and the current expectation is completion around 2031. It will not change daily life on Old Burnhamthorpe Road overnight, but it is part of why this side of Etobicoke is getting more attention.

Infill is also arriving on Renforth itself. In 2023, City staff recommended approving 140 stacked townhouse units at 596 Renforth Drive, beside Centennial Park. More of that kind of housing nearby will give future buyers more choice, and give you more comparables when you sell. The data panel on this page shows transit, schools and Walk Score.

Pricing a home in a 17-home corporation

There were no homes listed for sale or lease here at the time of writing, and condos.ca did not publish a price per square foot. In a complex of 17 homes, a year can pass without a single sale, so any building average would be shaky.

Build your comparables from three places: the recorded sales in the data panel on this page, other 1970s and 1980s condominium townhouses nearby such as 500 Renforth Drive Townhouses and 19 Centennial Park Road Townhouses, and freehold homes on the surrounding streets. Adjust for size, basement finish, parking and, critically, what each fee covers.

If a townhouse here is priced close to a small detached house nearby, the house usually wins. If the gap is wide and the corporation is healthy, the townhouse is a sensible way into the area. My building sold report pulls those comparables together.

Building specifications

Jatin’s honest take on Etobicoke Estates

Etobicoke Estates — frequently asked questions

Looking at Downsview, Weston, York University Heights, Rexdale and northwest Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.