Five Ontario cities with the lowest and highest property tax rates revealed

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The five Ontario cities with the lowest and highest property tax rates in the province have been revealed.

A newly-released report from Zoocasa, a real estate agency that offers market analysis, analyzed the property tax rates for 35 Ontario municipalities in 2021.

Zoocasa's report said there is a "significant variance" in the annual property tax rates paid by homeowners in Ontario depending on where they live.

Cities with high-valued real estate and larger populations generally have more leeway to keep property tax rates low because real estate prices are higher, Zoocasa said.

The agency said property tax rates are often an overlooked expense during the home-buying process that catches many off guard.

Property taxes are usually calculated as a percentage of a home's assessed value.

According to Zoocasa, the five cities with the lowest property tax rates in 2021 were all located within the Greater Toronto Area.

Toronto had the lowest property tax rate in 2021 at 0.61 per cent, followed by Markham at 0.63 per cent.

For example, someone who owns a home in Toronto would pay $6,110.13 in property taxes on a $1 million home.

Richmond Hill and Vaughan had a property tax rate of 0.65 per cent and 0.66 per cent, while Milton came in at 0.68 per cent.

On the other end of the scale, Windsor had the highest property tax rate analyzed at 1.81 per cent.

That means someone who owns a $1 million property in Windsor would have to fork out $18,186.68 per year in property taxes.

Sault Ste. Marie was next with 1.58 per cent, followed by Thunder Bay at 1.59 per cent.

Homeowners in North Bay pay about 1.56 per cent and while those in Sudbury pay about 1.54 per cent.

Property tax rates for 2021