A castle in France is cheaper than a house in Toronto

Cheryl Bozinski was fascinated by European architecture from a young age, and when she grew up and thought about having her own home, she seriously considered options in France. Since Cheryl learned French in kindergarten and high school, she didn't have a language barrier problem.

After discovering that ancient châteaux in France sometimes cost half as much as similar homes in Toronto, Cheryl flew to Paris in 2019, rented a car and began driving around the country, checking out the estates. The 19th-century estate she liked was worth 850,000 euros — about $1.25 million CAD.

The three-story estate has 11 bedrooms, 3.7 m high ceilings, marble fireplaces and oak floors. The grounds include its own woods and ancient outbuildings dating back to the 1500s. The caretaker's cottage was rented by a man with a dog who looked after the empty estate.

Cheryl went to visit relatives on Prince Edward Island, looked at similar houses and lots there, and realized that a castle in France was not much more expensive. She ended up buying the chateau. She estimated that she needed to invest at least $500,000 CAD in renovations, but Cheryl could afford it.

What's the catch?

It may have taken Cheryl Bozinski a lot more money to repair the estate. Castles of this age are often in a state of disrepair, and many of them cannot be rebuilt.

French estate agents are selling old estates cheaper than Parisian apartments: in 2020, castles were offered at a price of 300,000 euros. A square meter of old estates cost on average 800 euros cheaper than a square meter of a city apartment.

But you have to consider that it costs 300,000 to 400,000 euros a year to maintain a large castle in a livable condition. In Canada, people spend between $6,000 and $20,000 CAD a year on home maintenance, at current exchange rates that is no more than 15,000 euros.

15-25% of the approximately 800 castles for sale each year are bought by foreigners. In all, there are more than 43,000 castles in France.

Some foreigners buy estates for less than the amount they will then spend on repairs. For example, the MacDonald's of Great Britain bought a 40-room castle without electricity or running water for 280,000 euros in early 2020, stuck there for the lockdown period, and lived in tents inside the building. The couple and their three children were willing to repair the castle with their own hands and were successful in doing so, but the costs, they said, were noticeably higher than originally anticipated.

How much do houses in Canada cost now?

In May 2022, a four-bedroom Toronto townhouse sells for $1,899,000 CAD. That's not necessarily the final price. Blind bidding is common in Canada — dozens of buyers who haven't even seen a house at a reasonable price and in a good location may be vying for it. The federal government is drafting a bill that would ban this practice, and is taking other measures to reduce home values, but so far most Canadians can't afford a home in Toronto.

But there are provinces where home prices are much more humane. In Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Atlantic Canada, you can buy a house for less than $300,000 CAD, if, of course, you have enough 3-4 bedrooms.