Toronto's real estate market continues to heat up despite (or even because of, as some experts hypothesize) the COVID-19 pandemic, making a detached home worth less than $1 million an increasingly rare find.

According to the Canadian brokerage and data analysis firm Zoocasa, only nine of the city's 35 official MLS neighbourhoods currently boast a median house price of less than seven figures.

This is in stark contrast against what we were looking at in Toronto only one year ago when 14 such neighbourhoods existed.

The average price for detached homes across the 416 rose a stunning 9.4 per cent between September of 2019 and September of 2020, according to the Toronto Region Real Estate Board, reaching $1,487,122 last month.

This figure does not factor in condos or townhouses, of course, which could be purchased in Toronto for an average of $686,191 and $868,005, respectively, as of September 2020.

Still, for people who want more space — and demand in recent months suggests that there are quite a few — detached homes with their own yards, offices and basements are the ideal "new normal" living situation.

"September was a record-breaking month for home sales in the GTA, as more city-dwellers reassessed their housing priorities in search of homes with higher square footage," reads Zoocasa's latest report, released on Thursday.

"Housing demand in the City of Toronto was a true reflection of this trend, with detached house sales growing 28% y-o-y (vs. a modest 7% increase in condo apartment sales) and 1,161 homes changing hands."

The median price for detached properties in the City of Toronto (not to be confused with the average mentioned above) was $1,185,000 last month, according to Zoocasa, meaning half the detached houses sold during the month sold for less than this amount, while the other half sold for more.

"Now that home has become not just where we live, but for many of us, also where we work, finding a space that can accommodate both, at an affordable price within city limits can be challenging," said the company's director of business development, Evelyn Anders, of the current situation.

"However, there remain opportunities for those that have their sights set on purchasing a detached property in the city's East and West end."

Indeed, of the nine neighbourhoods where median prices fell below the $1 million mark last month, four can be found in Toronto's west end and the rest in the city's east end.

"For homes priced under $1M, buyers in these 9 neighbourhoods have a lot more flexibility when it comes to down payments since the minimum down payment required is significantly lower," writes Zoocasa.

That said, competition is tighter than ever among buyers in all but one of the nine neighbourhoods listed, and the majority of homes under seven figures are described as "older, war-time bungalows."

If you've got the will, the cash and the gumption, here are the nine best neighbourhoods for scoring a new home in Toronto for less than a million bucks right now:

1. W03 (Rockcliffe-Smythe, Keelesdale-Eglinton West): $875,000
2. E09 (Morningside, Woburn, Bendale): $890,000
3. W10 (Rexdale-Kipling, West Humber-Claireville): $891,500 
4. E04 (Dorset Park, Kennedy Park): $918,000
5. E10 (West Hill, Centennial Scarborough): $967,000
6. W04 (Yorkdale-Glen Park, Weston): $970,000
7. E11 (Malvern, Rouge): $975,000
8. E08 (Scarborough Village, Guildwood): $976,000
9. W05 (Black Creek, York University Heights): $980,111 

You can read the full report from Zoocasa here, or view a breakdown of median detached home prices across Toronto (and what you can expect to shell out in terms of a downpayment for one) below.