The 905 is the traditional zone for young Toronto families chasing lower prices, bigger lots and a slower pace. But recent census numbers show there’s a new species of GTA suburbanite: the exurbanite. Blame rising prices in Bur­lington, Milton and Oakville, where the average price of that Holy Grail of the real estate aspirant, the single detached home, was averaging $538,000 in March. Though 519 is not an area code many Torontonians associate with bedroom communities, increasing numbers of extreme commuters are leapfrogging over the 905. Cambridge—100 kilometres west of Toronto, with a population of 125,000—is looking pretty good. Even with gas hitting $1.20 a litre, the difference in property prices makes the move financially, if not environmentally, attractive. In Cambridge, the average detached home costs $280,000, and the market pretty much tops out at just over half a million. A 2,500-square-foot house on a half-acre lot goes for about $400,000 (if half-acre lots existed in Riverdale, Cabbagetown or the Annex, the price would be more than triple that).

Joe Hoyles and Kyla Fer­gu­son were hoping to find their first home in the traditional first-time buying regions of the 905. “We were looking along the western edges of the GTA, all the way up to damn near Orangeville,” Hoyles says, but everything was too expensive. They found a house in Cambridge earlier this year and took possession in May. “It had amazing curb appeal,” says Hoyles, “a mature lot and a beautiful oak tree. Inside, there are hardwood floors and a huge kitchen. The deciding factor was the price.”

Cambridge has become such a draw for commuters that its North Galt and Hespeler neighbourhoods—right on the 401—are known locally as commuter alley. “We used to see a lot of first-timer buyers who couldn’t afford to buy in the GTA,” says Royal LePage agent Tony Monteiro, who’s been an agent in Cambridge for 18 years. “Now we’re also seeing people who can afford Toronto but want a bigger bang for their buck.”

Exurbs have been developing in the States for more than a decade, with towns like Frisco, Texas, and Surprise, Arizona, becoming far-flung satellites of such larger cities as Dallas and Phoenix. As their populations increase, infrastructure and transit improve. In Cambridge’s case, the mayor is pushing (so far unsuccessfully) for a GO station. It’s a move that, along with a spike in new development, will vastly increase the number of Cambridge-Toronto commuters.

Already, there are signs that Cambridge is benefiting from Toronto’s binge. In March, while Toronto’s sales were down 22 per cent, Cambridge’s went up three per cent.