REAL ESTATE IN APPLEWOOD
The Applewood district is located in the east end of Mississauga just below the Rathwood district. Its borders run from near Cawthra Road and run parallel between the Dundas Street and Burnhamthorpe Road East to the borders of Etobicoke near Fleetwood Park.
THE AREA "LOWDOWN" TO MEET YOUR LIFESTYLE
Applewood is a nice area to live in. A majority of the homes here are anywhere between 30-45 years of age and it is a very well maintained community. This is also a very family oriented area with lots of apparent pride in homeownership here.
The great part about the smaller detached homes in this district is that they are affordable and appealing to first time home buyers. Though they may be a casualty of some much needed urban modernization, I may point out that buying a fixer upper is good in the sense that you can add your own style/flare to your residence and in turn increase the value to your home as well.
Most of the homes here have decent size lots and new homes and enhanced older homes do sell for a premium here. Especially with the appeal of it's location as you are close to the city and are withing arms reach of Mississauga's best amenities and transit but are paying less for your home here than in Toronto with access to the city's many great features.
The districts of Rathwood and Applewood are very similar in styles or homes and the age of them as well. There are many older styled bungalows in this district that may need a bit of modern tweaks but you get a good home with a decent sized lot which you will definitely not get with the newer builds. Keep in mind some homeowners have already put in the money to these homes so you may find one completely move in ready.
There is not a ton of amenities in this area but you have tons of shopping available for you along The Queensway with Sherway Mall being a relatively short drive as well as all the big box stores you will see situated along The Queensway. You also get quick access to the QEW and the 427 to connect you to the 401 if you need.
SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES NEAR APPLEWOOD
If you're not a fan of the older style of homes you will find in this district you may want to hop over a few other districts to the west as the Rathwood community situated above has many styles in common with Applewood. The Dixie district to the south is made up of more of a big box store development with very little housing there. To the east you have the Etobicoke border and to the west of you there is the Cooksville district which is Mississauga's old city centre if you go back about 40 years ago.
APPLEWOOD SCHOOLS AND THEIR RANKINGS
Please look below for an explanation on why some schools do not have a mark from the Fraser Institute (F/I)
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN APPLEWOOD (K-5)
Silverthorn Public School - 3535 Cedar Creek Drive, Mississauga (905) 279-1651 F/I Score: N/A
Burnhamthorpe Public School (F/I) - 3465 Golden Orchard Drive, Mississauga (905) 625-0140 F/I Score: N/A
Dixie Public School - 1120 Flagship Drive, Mississauga (905) 277-9505 F/I Score: N/A
Brian W. Fleming Public School - 3255 Havenwood Drive, Mississauga (905) 625-3220 F/I Score: N/A
Forest Glen Public School - 3400 Ponytrail Drive, Mississauga (905) 625-1462 F/I Score: N/A
MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN APPLEWOOD (6-8)
Tomken Road Middle School (F/I) - 3200 Tomken Road, Mississauga (905) 277-0321 F/I Score: N/A
Glenhaven Senior Public School - 3570 Havenwood Drive, Mississauga (905) 625-5250 F/I Score: N/A
SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN APPLEWOOD (9-12)
Applewood Heights (F/I) - 945 Bloor Street East, Mississauga (905) 279-6090 F/I Score: 6.7/10
Glenforest Secondary School - 3575 Fieldgate Drive, Mississauga (905) 625-7731 F/I Score: 8.4/10
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN APPLEWOOD
Blessed Theresa of Calcutta (JK-8) - 1120 Runningbrook Drive, Mississauga (905) 273-3937 F/I Score: 7.2/10
St. Thomas More (JK-8) - 3270 Tomken Road, Mississauga (905) 279-6472 F/I Score: 8/10
St. Alfred (JK-8) - 3341 Havenwood Drive, Mississauga (905) 625-0584 F/I Score: 5.3/10
St. Sofia (JK-8) - 3540 Havenwood Drive, Mississauga (905) 625-0823 F/I Score: 7.6/10
*Rankings Come From the Fraser Institute 2014-15 *
(Please note: schools that do not have a rating on the Fraser Institute need a miniumum number of students (15) from the grades from which the data is drawn from and in some cases the available data is insufficient to properly rank the school getting them a rank of this N/A. Again rank isn't everything as there are many factors to consider and the score should be used in conjuction with having meetings with teachers, administrators, support staff, as well as your child and other parents to better the overall selection factor)
AREA PRICING FOR DIFFERENT HOME STYLES
As mentioned earlier, in Applewood you can get a good sized detached house for a decent price as compared to other areas in Mississauga and Toronto. Yes it will be a fixer upper, needing a little bit of urban modernization but you can help add value to your home quite quickly if you choose to go this root.
Semi-detached and Smaller Detached - $420,000-$620,000+
Detached Homes - $620,000 - up to $1,000,000
Newer Detached and Executive Townhomes - $820,000 - $1,000,000+
TOP RESTAURANTS IN APPLEWOOD
Applewood has some good little finds as far as restaurants go, but you will probably have to drive to them depending where you live. Here are my favourite top places to eat with their rating on Yelp Reviews as of 01/01/15
Applewood Fish and Chips - 1020 Burnhamthorpe Road East, Mississauga (905) 277-4045 Yelp Review 4/5 (Amazing Fish and Chips)
Shanghai House Chinese Restaurant - 1014 Burnhamthorpe Road East, Mississauga (905) 270-1906 Yelp Review 4.5 (Chinese Fare)
Banh Mi Tan Vinh - 3415 Dixie Road, Mississauga (905) 624-9099 Yelp Review 4/5 (Thai Food)
Harry's Place Restaurant - 988 Burnhamthorpe Road East (905) 848-1175 Yelp Review 5/5 (Traditional American)
MY REAL ESTATE OPINION ON APPLEWOOD
To start off, Applewood isn't at the top of my list for places to live but that is just my personnal opinion as there just happens to be other districts that have the attractions I like that are either missing in Applewood or there is a limited amount of them. Applewood definitely has some value in the homes here as long as you want to get an older home that will probably need some kind of urban modernization of some kind as 95% of the homes here seem to be a bungalow of some kind.
This area lacks the large parks that some of the other districts have and that is something of importance to me but again that's not for everyone. It's location is great if you want to be close to either Toronto or Mississauga City Centre as you're a relatively short drive to either if you want a taste of city living, you are not far away. You also have close access to the QEW and the 427 if you need a quick way to get to the 401 as well.
The schools in Applewood have some very good scores as well which is good if you are considering a move to this area to raise your family. Again there is not a ton of amenities but there is a ton a short distance away along The Queensway and in Sherway Mall.
Again to reiterate, you can get the value out of purchasing a home here but you may need to sink some cash into it or if luck would have it you buy it off someone who already has. The schools are great, you have good access to transportation and you're not far from theatres and other amenities. If this sounds like your type of area then come check it out. It does have a good vibe here and the pride of ownership in this district is apparent much like Rathwood.