The Lowdown on Little Italy Toronto

Your Typical Neighbour

In Little Italy, you'll find that traditional Italian, Portuguese, Latino or Vietnamese residents mingle with a newer generation of hipsters renting subdivided Victorians, young families who got in before prices went crazy, and well-heeled professionals buying reno’d character homes or renovating for themselves. Euro hipsters who love espresso and soccer. Next-gen Mafioso whose parents have moved to Woodbridge.

What We

Home to some of the city's best food & drink options (hello Bar Raval and Cafe Diplomaticol!). Little Italy is an ever-changing collection of top-notch restaurants (serving more than pizza and pasta), sidewalk cafes, live music and Latin dancing opportunities that require no transit or cab fare. Side streets remain quiet and leafy even when College Street is at its hopping busiest. Portuguese and Italian communities lend a strong flair to the cultural life, with streets closed regularly for processions, festivals and the requisite football World Cup/European Cup madness.

What We Don't

Congestion and a lack of parking. Walking down College Street on a late Saturday night in August can be so busy you may feel like you haven’t made it out the bar’s front door yet. Finding parking and/or making your way home can be slow when streetcars are running both directions with only one lane available.

Property Statistics in Little Italy Toronto

All Properties - Statistics

Q4 2023

$1,632,386.00

Average Price

52

New Listings

22

Properties Sold

20

Average Days on Market

99%

% of Asking Price

Detached Houses - Statistics

Q4 2023

$2,647,000

Average Price

10

New Listings

3

Properties Sold

10

Average Days on Market

102%

% of Asking Price

semi-detached - Statistics

Q4 2023

$1,880,000.00

Average Price

20

New Listings

9

Properties Sold

25

Average Days on Market

97%

% of Asking Price

Condos - Statistics

Q4 2023

$688,00

Average Price

10

New Listings

5

Properties Sold

29

Average Days on Market

99%

% of Asking Price

Source: TREB Statistics

Little Italy is composed largely of Victorian-inspired semi-detached and row homes, nestled under mature trees on narrow streets. Garages are located most commonly at the rear off of laneways that run parallel between the house-lined streets.

A number of sprawling homes on streets like Palmerston and Dovercourt drive up the average price point on homes for this area. Drive north from College along Palmerston (technically South Annex) to see some of the area’s fancier bits; for a more “typical” streetscape of narrow Victorian semis, try Crawford between Dundas and College. Lack of inventory is having an upward effect on the pricing here in general, as popularity remains steady and availability remains low. Attractively priced not-so-updated homes in the area can still be found at a ‘reasonable’ price, but increasingly these too end up being purchased in a hail of bidding-war bullets.

Long-lingering popularity for the area has led to the erection of a number of new low-to mid-rise condo & loft projects that have made Little Ital-living more attainable for the masses who want to be close to the action; we expect to see more of these along the busy retail-focused stretch of College.

Area: 1km

Population: 13,735

Demographics

Kids: 9%

Youth: 13%

Seniors: 13%

Visible Minority: 24.3%

Average Family Income: $90,448

Education

Lower Education: 21.8%

Higher Education: 20.6%

Home Ownership

Owned Homes: 47%

Tenanted Homes: 53%

There are a number of schools serving the Little Italy neighbourhood, and all of the options will offer fine examples of the multiculturalism that is synonymous with living in Toronto.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Ossington Old Orchard Public School St. Luke Catholic School Brock Public School Montrose Junior Public School Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Elementary School Dewson Street Junior Public School

INTERMEDIARY SCHOOLS

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School Clinton Street Junior Public School Pope Francis Catholic School

SENIOR SCHOOLS

Central Toronto Academy Delta Alternative Senior School Harbord Collegiate Institute Cast School Bloor Collegiate Institute
Rocket options on College, Bathurst and Dundas. Buses on Ossington and Harbord. Drivers are a short jaunt to Gardiner Lakeshore via nearby Bathurst or Dufferin.

About Little Italy Toronto

Welcome to Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood.

Little Italy is one of the most happening neighbourhoods in this city. With its popular (and delicious) restaurants, cafes, bakeries, clothing stores, shoe boutiques, and retro record shops, and it is no wonder why. With so much to do, at every turn, it is also (surprisingly) one of the more relaxing areas to be. Little Italy puts the “Dolce Far Niente” (Sweet of nothing = sweet idleness) in a city that is always on-the-go.

And how does it do that? Simple: good (great) food, good music (live bands), beautiful shopping options, and friendly faces. Little Italy has some of the most (and the most popular) patios in Toronto. Its patio-dwelling culture can be attributed to its European roots and Italian influence—aninfluence that is palatable not only in the mouth-watering Tuscan fare, rich espressos, generous cappuccinos, creamy agnolotti, and fresh biscotti a-plenty but in the neighbourhood’s overall tight-knit community atmosphere. An energy that embraces the richer, finer, and “funner” things in life. Yes, we said it: “funner.”

In-line with the European style of the area, surrounding residential side streets (off of College Street) hug visitors with well-manicured lawns, immaculate front porches, beautiful brick homes, waving hands, and friendly faces. The residential makeup of Little Italy varies between the old and young and old-school and new-school.

In tune with the rest of the city, Little Italy’s housing market is in high demand. People who have lived in Little Italy a long time seldom want to leave the convenience, community, and welcoming ‘vibe’ so rare in big-city living behind.

In Little Italy life is sweet and idleness is done right – and done in style.


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