Brock homes, $700,000 climbing to $1,000,000

In Beaverton, the money lands on a sixties bungalow with a garage and a deep lot a few streets from the harbour, a newer semi in the south-end subdivisions, or an older two-storey on Simcoe Street with room to improve. In Cannington and Sunderland it buys a detached village house on municipal services, often a century home with a big lot and dated systems, or a seventies bungalow on the edge of the village. On the concessions it reaches a raised bungalow with a shop on one to three acres, where the finishes and the septic bed date from the same decade and the furnace may run on oil. The lake's contribution is mostly cottages: some are honest four-season houses on drilled wells, others are summer buildings with a furnace added, and telling them apart is the main job in this band. Lot size and build year matter more than the photographs.

Settle the trade-off before you start viewing. Municipal water and sewer, a walkable school and a main street mean a village house in Beaverton, Cannington or Sunderland, smaller and older than the same money buys on a concession road. Land means a well, a septic, a longer drive, a propane or oil bill, and you should spend the inspection budget on the water sample and a camera down the septic line rather than on a cosmetic report. The lake at this price usually means a view or shared access to the water, and a shoreline lot may include an original road allowance that is not part of the title. Lenders treat seasonal buildings and farm parcels differently from year-round houses on residential lots, so describe the property accurately when you apply. Insurance on a rural house with an oil tank, a wood stove or a long response distance from the fire hall is worth quoting before you go firm.