Housing prices in various cities and towns across Ontario are rising alongside Toronto's overheating market, in part thanks to a trend of people moving away from the province's biggest urban centre amid lockdown and work-from-home trends. 

Though real estate sales and prices are now booming in many suburbs of the GTHA, there are still some nearby locales where you can get a very decent-sized — and, perhaps more importantly, unique — home for cheaper than a tiny cookie-cutter shoebox in T.O.

A beautiful three-bedroom home in an converted church in Port Hope is just one of those gems still available for those who are looking.

Less than an hour and a half east of Toronto right along Lake Ontario, the quiet, cute community is pretty dreamy for those looking for a slower pace and more room to breathe. 

The cost of living helps, too, with this 2,600-square-foot, two-floor detached home currently listed for just $499,000 — far cheaper than the average price of a condo in T.O. right now, which sits at somewhere around $640,000 to $690,000, depending on which source you're looking at.

The lower level is pretty basic, with historic pine floors throughout the kitchen, two bedrooms, a washroom and some living space, which are nothing too exciting, but still bright and beautiful.

It is the upper floor, which makes the building's former life unignorable, that is the showstopper.

The beautiful hardwood is here outdone only by the soaring, rather ornate hardwood ceilings and array of original stained glass windows on all sides of the open concept living space.

Furnishing such a large open room may be a bit awkward, but it's staged here as a sitting area with chairs in two corners, a couch and TV in another, and an 8-seater dining table in the centre with tons of space all around.

There is also the rather unique area that was once the chancel, a focal point that has now been turned into a raised bedroom and has the most detailed stained glass window in the home (for those who are okay with Jesus watching over their bedroom activities).

The former Elizabethville United Church comes with half an acre of property and, though it is its own little piece of history, it has been equipped with the usual updates one would expect to find in 2021 — plus some you may not, like a piano-turned-bar for those long nights of repenting.

If "one-of-a-kind" is your brand, this structure surely fits the bill, whether it be used as a primary residence, weekend getaway spot, studio or business.