ReverseMortgageEtobicoke.ca explains how an Islington reverse mortgage works for owners 55 and older, whether the home is a brick house off Dundas Street West or a condo a short walk from Kipling station. You borrow against the home, keep living in it and make no required monthly mortgage payments.
You still pay the property taxes, keep the home insured and look after repairs. The amount follows the youngest owner’s age and the home’s appraised value, and in this part of Etobicoke those values run from about half a million dollars for a condo to well over $1.3 million for a house.
Two kinds of home in one TRREB community
TRREB’s community called Islington-City Centre West covers both the older village streets and the newer towers. The City of Toronto now counts the same ground as two neighbourhoods, Islington and Etobicoke City Centre, and their housing is very different (City of Toronto, 2021 Neighbourhood Profiles).
The houses around Islington Village
Islington took its name in 1859, the subway reached Islington Avenue in 1968, and the first apartment buildings came in the 1950s and 1960s (Etobicoke Historical Society). Montgomery’s Inn, built in the 1830s, still stands at Dundas and Islington as a free City museum with a Wednesday farmers’ market (City of Toronto).
In the 2021 Census, 45.7% of Islington’s homes were single-detached houses, and 62.4% of its dwellings were built in 1980 or earlier. One resident in five (20.2%) was 65 or older, and 52.5% of owners had no mortgage at all.
The towers at Six Points and Kipling
Etobicoke City Centre is mostly condos: only 8.6% of its homes were single-detached houses in 2021, and 12.8% of residents were 65 or older. Owners there were more likely to carry a mortgage, at 71.7%.
The City is building a new Etobicoke Civic Centre on a 13.8-acre site at Six Points, with a community centre, pools and a library branch, and completion is expected in 2028 (City of Toronto).
How lenders look at a house and at a condo
A house is judged mainly on its own value, condition and location. A post-war house that has been kept up qualifies like any other, but serious disrepair can stop an approval, so a leaking roof is worth fixing or quoting before the appraiser visits.
A condo apartment gets three reviews: the value of your unit, the health of the building and its condo corporation, and the location. Lenders want a corporation whose rules permit the mortgage, whose reserve and fees look healthy and whose building is kept up.
Each of the four lenders keeps its own view of individual buildings, which means one Six Points tower can be approved by one lender and turned down by the next. Comparing all four matters more for a condo than for a house, as reverse mortgages for Etobicoke condos explains in more depth.
Example: An Islington House at $1,301,000
For example, take a widowed owner, aged 75, in a 1950s detached house a few streets from Montgomery’s Inn. Detached houses in Islington-City Centre West sold for a median of $1,301,000 from April to June 2026 (TRREB, Q2 2026), and at 75 the ceiling is up to about 58% of that, or about $751,000.
The owner still has $85,000 on a HELOC (home equity line of credit) and wants $60,000 for a main-floor bathroom and a stair lift. At closing, the $85,000 HELOC is paid off and closed, and the $60,000 goes to the owner’s bank account.
That uses $145,000 of the $751,000 ceiling. Interest builds only on the $145,000, and any rise in the house’s value over the years often makes up some or all of that interest. Ways to pay for help at home are covered in paying for home care in Etobicoke.
A condo owner near Kipling with a mortgage
The median condo apartment in Islington-City Centre West sold for $518,000 in the same quarter, across 109 sales. For an owner aged 65, up to about half of that is about $262,000.
Any mortgage is paid off first, so the balance must fit inside that ceiling. For example, a 65-year-old with $200,000 left on a condo bought in the 2010s would have about $62,000 left over after the payoff, and no monthly mortgage payment from then on.
A condo townhouse at the $813,000 median is reviewed with its condo corporation, like an apartment. A freehold row house at the $1,170,000 median is valued the way a detached house is.
What to watch for in Islington-City Centre West
Property taxes keep coming. Toronto’s 2026 residential rate is 0.767311% of your MPAC assessment, which is still based on January 1, 2016 values (City of Toronto; MPAC). Keeping them paid is one of the conditions of every reverse mortgage, and the City’s seniors’ programs are in Etobicoke property tax help for seniors.
A special assessment on the building. If your condo corporation has announced a special assessment, mention it in your first email, because the lender reviews the building’s finances.
The cost of moving across the street. Selling the house and buying a condo nearby means Ontario’s land transfer tax plus Toronto’s own. On a $700,000 condo, the two come to $20,950 for a repeat buyer (Ontario; City of Toronto). The full comparison is in downsizing in Etobicoke and land transfer tax.
Islington-City Centre West home values and what they could provide
Prices: TRREB Community Housing Market Report, Toronto West, Q2 2026 (April to June). Amounts are the most you could qualify for at that age, from the same age table as the reversemortgagebroker.ca calculator, rounded to the nearest $1,000, before anything you owe is paid off. The largest amounts come at a higher rate, and the lender's appraisal of your own home sets the real figure.
These are TRREB's April to June 2026 median prices for Islington-City Centre West. A current mortgage is cleared out of the same money, and the appraiser's value for your own home decides the final amount.
Streets and pockets of Islington-City Centre West
Richard helps owners in every part of Islington-City Centre West and the communities beside it, including:
- Islington Village
- Six Points
- Etobicoke City Centre
- The Kingsway
- Princess-Rosethorn
- Etobicoke West Mall
- Stonegate-Queensway
Places locals know
- Montgomery's Inn, a City of Toronto museum from the 1830s
- Kipling station, the western end of Line 2 Bloor-Danforth
- Islington station on Line 2
- The new Etobicoke Civic Centre site at Six Points
- Dundas Street West through Islington Village
Getting help from home in Islington-City Centre West
Richard Hopkins, Mortgage Broker, helps Islington owners by email, phone and video call, and any family member you name can be copied on every email. Only two steps happen in person: the appraiser visits your house or condo, and you meet your own lawyer. Many owners choose a lawyer close to home, near Islington Village or Six Points.
Reasons Islington-City Centre West owners look into it
- Condo owners: Condo apartments and condo townhouses from Humber Bay Shores to Rexdale can qualify, with no required monthly mortgage payments.
- Paying for home care: Private care hours, a stair lift or a main-floor bathroom, paid from your home's value so you can stay in it.
- A broker who compares everything: Every reverse mortgage lender in Canada compared, plus HELOCs and refinances, so the recommendation fits your situation.