Soaring housing prices in Toronto have forced some home buyers to look for more affordable alternatives to the conventional detached home, but prices for one type of dwelling may be on the same boat.

House boat prices in the Greater Toronto Area have doubled in the last six years, putting the average cost of a floating home in the range of a condo, according to Royal LePage sales agent Denise Doucet.

According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, the average home price in the city, regardless of property type, rose 17.7 per cent to $710,410 in August compared to the same month last year. Detached homes in the city of Toronto proper cost on average $1.2 million, up 18.3 per cent.

In an interview with BNN, Doucet said the rise of Toronto’s housing prices has driven more people to consider buying a house boat instead.

“The price point of a floating home lends itself for a first-time home buyer or someone who's rightsizing or downsizing,” Doucet said. “It's very attractive in many ways because it offers not only a building: It offers a lifestyle and it offers wonderful interaction with nature. And most importantly, water."

So what exactly do you get with a house boat in Toronto? Here’s a look at two floating homes in the city's Scarborough Bluffs area:

 

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Price: $589,000

What you get: This 1,100-square-foot, two story-high house boat comes with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Its listing touts its view of the Scarborough Bluffs that beats any in Vancouver’s float home community “by a long shot.” The property’s mooring fees – the house boat equivalent to maintenance fees – will cost you $720 a month.

 

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Price: $299,000

What you get:  For those who want something cozier – or have a tighter budget -- this 700 by 799-square-foot condo loft only has a kitchen, a bedroom and one bathroom. Its mooring fees are a bit higher at $767 a month, but you still get a nice view from its balcony.