Want a condo but don’t want to compromise on TTC access? Consider something in the Danforth area where the price per square foot is substantially lower than buildings on the Yonge-University-Spadina subway.

If you’re looking for luxury, get off at Museum where condos in the vicinity average $1,029 per square foot; inventory is limited, but you’re close to the ROM, the funky Annex neighbourhood and Yorkville, says Carl Langschmidt, president of Condos.ca.

The data-based real estate brokerage has come up with a map illustrating the price per square foot of condos around TTC stations.

It shows that you can buy more for less around Yorkdale, where a square foot of space averages $375. That’s because the buildings tend to be a little older, he said.

The map provides the average cost of a square foot around subway stops from Jan. 1 to May 10 of this year. The average is based on a radius of about the halfway point from one subway station to the next on the line.

TTC stops average about 800 metres apart but the distance can be more than 1 km north of Spadina station toward Sheppard West, formerly known as Downsview station, and as close as 400 to 500 metres apart on the Danforth, said transit spokesman Brad Ross.

Price per square foot is the best measure of what you’re getting for your money, said Langschmidt.

“It’s not just about average price. Average price doesn’t take into account how the size of units have been (historically) trending downwards,” although there has been a slight rise in the average size of new units in the last year. “It gives you a more accurate sense of how prices are changing,” he said.

Langschmidt says the Danforth has been undervalued. It hasn’t attracted as much development as some other areas of Toronto but mid-rise condos are emerging.

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He cites the 12-storey Carmelina condos near Danforth and Woodbine avenues with an average price of $734 per square foot.

“I can see more buildings like that popping up along the Danforth. It is such a great location,” he said.

The Sheppard subway line also includes some of the lower costs per square foot, according to the company’s map.

“It never made sense to me why somebody would pay $3,000 a square foot . . . when the reality is there’s so much inventory at a much lower price per square foot,” he said.

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The average price per square foot in the city is $678, up 4.8 per cent in the last 60 days, and 31.5-per-cent higher than last year, according to the Condos.ca website.

The average unit sold for $580,917 and the average size was 857 square feet.

Among major world cities, Toronto apartments are still relatively low in price, said Langschmidt. He pointed to research showing that last year Toronto units averaged $518 per sq. ft. compared to $3,086 in Hong Kong, $2,732 in London and $900 in Vancouver.

There may be buyer opportunities along new transit lines such as the Spadina subway extension to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, expected to open late this year and along the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which won’t open before the next decade, said Langschmidt. Those lines are already under construction. But, he warns, the city has a long, spotty history when it comes to building the transit it talks about, he said.