Whether you're a student, professor, or administrator, often the toughest part about transferring to a university is finding a place to live. Toronto, New York or Boston for example, are huge cities with a multitude of real estate options, none of which are exactly cheap. This article will introduce you to some of the different types of real estate in Toronto, where they can be found, and how much you can expect to pay. So if you want to know what condos in Toronto will cost you, we can help.

The population density in Toronto is high, which means that detached homes are going the way of the dinosaur. The closer to the center of the city, the fewer detached homes you will find. A standard two storey house with three bedrooms and a 3,500 square foot lot in the Annex, a neighborhood near the university, will run you over $880,000. Riverdale, Toronto real estate is a little less steep, around $558,000, while the cheapest areas to find detached homes are Burlington, which has an average of $421,000 and Woodbridge, where homes average at $354,000.

Not many people who are just starting out can afford that kind of money, so if you want your space you might want to look into the possibility of buying a townhouse. A townhouse in Yorkville will have the same number of bedrooms and the same amenities as a detached home in Burlington but with a little less floor space and a lot less lot space - about 1,000 square feet. Scarborough has a lot of cheap townhouses, averaging between $325,000 and $350,000. Closer to the city, a Cabbagetown townhouse will run you $600,000 and a West Village home around $500,000.

Even that's too expensive for most students and new professors, so for your first real estate purchase you're probably going to want to go for condos. Downtown has plenty, as do many of the outlying neighborhoods and even the suburbs. A standard condo has about 900 square feet of space and two bedrooms. In Riverdale and the Annex this will cost you upwards of $500,000 but if you buy in the West Village, Markham, or Richmond Hill, the average price drops to $325,000.

For those who want the freedom and convenience of condo living with the luxury amenities of a classy hotel, there's the luxury condo. At a 1400 square foot average for two bedrooms and lots of building features, you'll be paying for it with high condo fees and higher purchase prices. A luxury condominium in Downtown Toronto on the waterfront averages at $450,000 while Lawrence Park and Forest Hill are even more expensive at $559,000 and $593,000 respectively.

If you would like to look at average real estate prices for the city of New York, you can start here.