Mississauga homes at $1 million plus, under $1.5 million

Erin Mills and Sheridan give you a detached four-bedroom on a mature lot near Erin Mills Town Centre, the hospital and the university campus in Erindale, with the 403 minutes away. Meadowvale offers the same era near its lakes and Meadowvale GO, and Mississauga Valleys sits between Square One and the Credit River with 1970s houses on large lots. East Credit, Creditview and Hurontario were planned in the 1990s with the school on the corner and the plaza at the edge, and their houses are larger inside. Churchill Meadows and Lisgar are the newest, with double-door entries and nine-foot ceilings, and they rely on Lisgar GO and the 407. Applewood, Rathwood and Clarkson hold side-splits and two-storeys sitting on lots the newer areas cannot match, close to the QEW and Dixie GO. The team can arrange a single afternoon across three of them.

Well-kept detached houses in the popular subdivisions draw several buyers at once, so arrive with a firm pre-approval, a clear ceiling and an inspector who can attend on short notice. Look past staging to the roof, then the windows, furnace and panel, since a 1970s house with all four original is a different purchase from one where they were replaced. Decide in advance how much unfinished basement, dated kitchen or single garage you will accept in exchange for the street you want. On a Mineola or Lorne Park lot at the bottom of this band, expect a house that needs work and cost out that work before you offer. The team runs the sold comparables on the exact model.