The prospect of owning a home has sailed far beyond reach for many in Toronto, but there was a time in the not-too-distant past when even blue-collar single-income families could comfortably afford to purchase a house in the city.

A vintage ad making the rounds on social media this month is underscoring the soaring costs of housing in today's real estate market compared to the almost unbelievably low sticker price of a two-storey home sold in the early 1960s.

The ad for a home model known as The Crestwood offered a starting price of just $16,745 for the single-detached house in the Finch and Leslie area, maxing out at $19,495 with an attached garage.

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According to The Bank of Canada's inflation calculator, that base price of $16,745 in 1963 would translate to $166,194.13 in 2024 dollars — which is still just a fraction of the average home price in Toronto today.

The average price of a detached house in the region reached $1,443,612 in February 2024, which is almost ten times the cost of these detached homes 61 years earlier.

The ad has popped up many times over the years, including in a Reddit post in 2022, and more recently resurfacing on Facebook groups and Instagram pages in March 2024. And each time the ad reappears, heated discussions on the current state of the market always follow.

Commenters on the recent Facebook re-post — many who were brought up in the era these homes were sold — lamented the market conditions faced by the current generations.

"My dad paid his house $30,000 in 65. Half acre lot with large home. Our poor kids will be paying a mortgage still at retirement," says one user.

Another user explained how much things have changed since the era this advertisement was produced.

"My father a clerk in a manufacturing setting in the late fifties could buy a new four bedroom home in Toronto a new car every four or five years and along with a stay at home mom, raise five kids."

"The corporate war against unions is a huge factor in the downward slide of working class families. Today, two professional incomes would not produce the same results as my grade ten dad achieved."

Another comment notes how, "even with inflation factored in, that is still a pretty sweet deal compared to today."

"Nowadays it's almost impossible to buy a home, and even if you successfully jump through all the hoops you will most likely be housepoor and unable to afford much outside of your mortgage!"

Meanwhile, the cost of owning a home in Toronto in 2024 continues to increase. It will now require an average annual income of $214,100 to afford a home in the city. Even if you already own a property like a condo, rising maintenance fees are adding to the ever-increasing cost of living in Canada's largest city.