Photo: Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US) · CC BY-SA 3.0Pickering builds fast: 37.8 new homes a year per 1,000, against 15 for Ontario’s towns
Going by owners’ own estimates in 2021, the typical home is worth $880,000, the average one $929,000. Statistics Canada doesn’t publish sales in Ontario, so nothing here says what Pickering’s homes actually sold for. For 2024, the median assessed value of a residential property is $494,000. 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.
Pickering’s homes, by two sources
Two sources, each set against Ontario’s towns only: provinces measure value differently, so they don’t line up across borders. Keep in mind these are owners’ estimates from the 2021 census, not recorded sales.
median, owners’ estimate
- Average
- $929K
- Owners
- 28,435
- 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).
A detached house in Pickering is assessed at 2.3 times the middle of Ontario’s towns
Assessors listed 33,530 residential properties in Pickering for 2024, 65% of them detached houses and 8% condos.
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 Pickering’s homes break down, by age and kind
At the 2021 census, 60% of Pickering’s 33,425 occupied homes were single-detached houses. At least half predate 2001.
Homes by period of construction the tick is the median of Ontario’s towns
Homes by kind
| Pickering | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condominiums | 18% | 7% | 8% |
| Needing major repairs | 4% | 6% | 6% |
| Too small for the household | 5% | 5% | 3% |
| Households in core housing need | 10% | 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.
The peak came in 2023, when Pickering permitted 2,479 new homes
Building permits added 7,514 homes in Pickering between 2018 and 2023: some 1,252 a year. The mix: 28% in single-unit buildings, beside 66% for Ontario’s towns.
New homes a year per 1,000 homes
Down 13%: 35,927 new homes in the year to August 2026
Shared with the rest of the Toronto metro area: monthly permits
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.
Pickering is dearer than most of Ontario’s towns: 27% above their $695,000 median
The census values of Ontario’s towns, 871 of them with 2,500+ people, from dearest to cheapest.
Census 2021, owners’ estimates; towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, no city as a whole, no reserve.
Cheaper next to Pickering: Malvern East
Next to Pickering: 2021 census values and the share of owners.
| Town | Median home value | Average | Owners | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pickering | $880K | $929K | 85% | |
| West Rouge | $900K | $916K | 80% | 5.9 |
| Ajax | $850K | $874K | 84% | 6.6 |
| Centennial Scarborough | $960K | $1.07M | 92% | 7.3 |
| Highland Creek | $1M | $1.14M | 86% | 7.9 |
| Morningside Heights | $900K | $929K | 84% | 8.5 |
| Malvern East | $700K | $658K | 70% | 9.7 |
Census 2021 values; km.
Questions about property prices in Pickering
Is Pickering expensive for Ontario?
More than most: Ontario’s towns have a median of $695,000, and Pickering sits above it.
How many households in Pickering are in core housing need?
In line with Ontario’s towns (9%): 10% in Pickering, counting the households whose home falls short on cost, size or repair.
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).