More people are renting than ever in Canada after long ago giving up the now-unrealistic dream of owning a home, but for those willing to relocate, there are still a number of cities where you can purchase a place of your own for less than $200,000 — yes, even near Toronto.

A new report from Point2Homes shows that despite sky-high prices nationwide — which have stayed unaffordable even in the face of a market correction — there are a handful of places that still have some real estate listings under the $200,000 mark, though they represent only a sliver of what is for sale.

Surprisingly, of 50 large Canadian cities surveyed, the two with the highest percentage of cheap homes are in Ontario: Waterloo, which is less than a 1.5 hour drive from T.O., and Kawartha Lakes, which is in cottage country but still less than a two hour trip away.

how do people afford homes 😭 why is ontario so expensive

— natasha 🪬 (@strawberrysm0ke) June 10, 2023

While the study notes that "almost all aspiring homebuyers are bound to be disappointed [as] the actual shares of affordable homes for sale are dismal," both of these Ontario cities have a far larger share of houses listed for under $200k than anywhere else (3.13 per cent and 2.62 per cent, respectively, versus less than one per cent for all other locales on the list).

Also in the top 10 are Belleville, Hamilton, London, and Ottawa, Ontario, where 0.48, 0.34, 0.28 and 0.14 per cent of homes, respectively, are listed for under this figure.

But, even if one would be hard-pressed to find a home for that low of a price on the market in these areas, they are better than the 35 cities with  homes for sale below this price point.

Also worth noting is the average benchmark price for homes listed in the top 10 places on the list, which is as low as $607,200 in London and as high as $803,000 in Hamilton — still way under the 24 cities of the 50 largest in Canada where benchmark prices are higher than $1 million.

As of May 2023, in Toronto, the typical home is $1,143,200. And unfortunately, Point2Homes doesn't have a good outlook for those hoping to one day nab a deal on a house not just in the 6ix, but anywhere in Canada.

Here's how much you need to earn to afford a home in Toronto https://t.co/T0iJlBHpQM #Toronto #TorontoRealEstate #RealEstate

— blogTO (@blogTO) June 5, 2023

"If affordable is synonymous with almost impossible, cheap is becoming downright mythical: Homes under $200,000 in the country’s largest, most desirable cities are fewer by the day," they write.

"The largest and most expensive cities in Canada are, naturally, the most desirable ones. This means prices here are pushed into the stratosphere by sustained demand, leaving renters and first-time buyers with very few options... and these red-hot housing markets have very little space left for affordable options."