Lansing is one of our top picks in North York for buyers looking to grow their Toronto real estate investment. It’s a shame that most central Torontonians don’t give North York a closer look.

For savvy buyers who already know about North York's many benefits along with those willing to move outside of the core, Lansing is a great investment opportunity providing you get in quickly. There are so few pockets of Toronto left where you can find ravine lots surrounded by nature this close to major highways and just a short commute to downtown.

If you’re looking for a family-sized home under $1M and also want it to be a solid investment so that you can continue moving up the property ladder, a great strategy would be to buy one of the smaller Lansing bungalows for sale on a large lot. Live in it until you can build your dream home on the site or until the lot appreciates enough so that you can turn a healthy profit for your next move up the property ladder.

In short, find the worst house in the neighbourhood on a prime lot and even if you can't afford to reno it now, providing the mechanicals and structure are sound, suck it up living in an outdated interior and you’ll likely be well-rewarded down the road, whether you end up updating it yourself or not prior to re-sale.

This strategy will take some patience however in terms of finding the right property (and likely some door-knocking by your Realtor). Affordable, original condition homes are fewer and farther between these days and often spark competitive bidding wars. If you can scoop one however, you’re set.