Photo: Ryan Hodnett · CC BY-SA 4.0Since 2001, Highland West has built 48% of the homes it has today; Ontario’s towns, 17%
A median of $695,000 and a mean of $710,739: that is how owners valued their homes in 2021. Census values are owners’ own estimates, taken in May 2021, before the rise in interest rates. For Highland West there is no published sale price, as for every town in Ontario.
Two ways to price a home in Highland West
Every figure here is compared within the province, against Ontario’s towns, since each province assesses on its own terms. Ontario’s assessments are still on MPAC’s values of 1 January 2016, far below today’s prices, so they compare only with other Ontario towns. Behind assessed values, values by property type and building permits sits data gathered across the city of Kitchener, with Highland West one part of it.
median, owners’ estimate
- Average
- $711K
- Owners
- 3,120
- Ontario’s towns
- $695K
- The typical Canadian town
- $406K
all residential, MPAC 2016 base
- Ontario’s towns
- $232K
Census 2021 (Statistics Canada); Canadian Housing Statistics Program, tables 46-10-0099 and 46-10-0093; Québec rôle d’évaluation foncière 2026 (MAMH).
Houses in Kitchener carry assessments 37% over the middle of Ontario’s towns
Detached houses account for 60% of the 81,065 properties on Kitchener’s 2024 roll; condos for 13%.
Median assessment by type, 2024 the tick is the median of Ontario’s towns
Canadian Housing Statistics Program, table 46-10-0093 (2024): residential properties on the assessment roll, vacant land left out. The ticks are the median of Ontario’s towns with their own figure; assessments compare within a province only.
How Highland West’s homes break down, by age and kind
Of the 4,155 homes people lived in across Highland West at the 2021 census, 59% were single-detached houses. A neighbourhood’s counts are summed from small census areas, so its parts can fall a little short of the whole.
Homes by period of construction the tick is the median of Ontario’s towns
Homes by kind
| Highland West | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condominiums | 17% | 7% | 8% |
| Needing major repairs | 2% | 6% | 6% |
| Too small for the household | 7% | 5% | 3% |
| Households in core housing need | 5% | 9% | 7% |
Census 2021 (Statistics Canada): occupied private dwellings; core housing need as Statistics Canada defines it. Ticks and columns are medians of the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more.
Building ahead of Ontario’s towns: 32.5 new homes a year per 1,000 in Kitchener, against 15
Building permits added 17,524 homes in Kitchener between 2018 and 2023: some 2,921 a year. Multi-unit buildings took most: single-unit ones were just 13%, where Ontario’s towns built 66%.
The busiest year: 2023, with 4,095 new homes
New homes a year per 1,000 homes
Slowing: 4,795 new homes in the 12 months to August 2026, 10% fewer
Statistics Canada, tables 46-10-0087 (building permits by census subdivision, 2018–2023: dwelling units created, new construction and conversions) and 34-10-0292 (monthly, metro areas). Per 1,000: units a year over 2019–2023 against occupied homes in 2021. · Not measured by town: monthly permits (the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo metro area)
Highland West against Ontario’s towns: about level with the $695,000 median
871 of Ontario’s towns (2,500 people or more), by median value at the 2021 census, dearest first.
Census 2021, owners’ estimates; towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, no city as a whole, no reserve.
Lower values near Highland West: Victoria Hills, Meinzinger Park-Lakeside and Cherry Hill
Next to Highland West: 2021 census values and the share of owners.
| Town | Median home value | Average | Owners | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland West | $695K | $711K | 75% | |
| Forest Heights | $700K | $689K | 87% | 1.8 |
| Victoria Hills | $500K | $506K | 39% | 1.9 |
| Westmount | $750K | $893K | 54% | 2.2 |
| Forest Hill | $695K | $673K | 61% | 2.7 |
| Meinzinger Park-Lakeside | $600K | $616K | 60% | 3.3 |
| Cherry Hill | $500K | $573K | 27% | 3.3 |
Census 2021 values; km.
Questions about property prices in Highland West
How many households in Highland West are in core housing need?
In Highland West, 5% of households are in core housing need, against 9% for Ontario’s towns: those whose home costs too much, is too small or needs major repairs, with nothing suitable nearby under 30% of their income.
Is Highland West expensive for Ontario?
Highland West is close to the norm for Ontario’s towns, whose median home is worth $695,000.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · Statistics Canada, Canadian Housing Statistics Program · Statistics Canada, building permits (tables 46-10-0087 and 34-10-0292). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).