Burlington Neighbourhood Guide

Shoreacres

By Chris Ouzas, Broker, Michael Ouzas Real Estate Team, Royal LePage Signature Realty. Last updated October 2026.

South-east Burlington's lakefront pocket between Walkers Line and Appleby Line, where Shoreacres Creek runs down to Lake Ontario and Paletta Lakefront Park anchors the shoreline. Wide lots, waterfront estates, and a quieter version of what Roseland offers next door.

Source: Cornerstone Association of REALTORS (the Hamilton board), ITSO MLS data, September 2026, Burlington Monthly Indicators report current as of October 2, 2026. Figures cover the City of Burlington; the board publishes no neighbourhood split, and individual streets and property types vary.

Living in Shoreacres

Shoreacres sits in the south-east corner of Burlington, roughly from New Street south to the lake between Walkers Line and Appleby Line. It is Roseland's neighbour to the east, and it shares the same basic formula: mature streets, big lots, and the lake at the bottom of the pocket. What sets it apart is the creek that gives the neighbourhood its name and cuts a green ravine through the middle of it, and the park and mansion that sit on the water partway through.

There is no commercial strip inside Shoreacres itself. Groceries, pharmacy, and the day-to-day errands happen at Appleby Mall on New Street at Appleby Line, or in the plazas along New Street further west. Downtown Burlington is a short drive along Lakeshore Road, and the QEW is close on either flank at Walkers Line or Appleby Line. What buyers give up in walkable retail, they get back in privacy and canopy.

Two buyer types dominate our Shoreacres work. Families who want the established, tree-lined south end but do not need Roseland's premium address will often land here first. And renovators and small builders who see a postwar house on a wide lot and a lake view within reach are a steady second group. Both groups are drawn to the same thing: the land, and the water at the end of the street.

What makes Shoreacres distinct

The neighbourhood's name traces to the waterfront estate at its centre. By 1912 the property was a fruit farm and public recreation ground, and steel executive Cyrus Birge later owned it. His daughter, Edythe Merriam MacKay, built the mansion on the site in 1930 and named it Shoreacres Estate. The Paletta family led the donors who saved the estate, and the City of Burlington now operates the property as Paletta Lakefront Park and Mansion at 4250 Lakeshore Road, with the original 1930s playhouse, known as the Doll House, believed to be the oldest heritage playhouse in Burlington.

Shoreacres Creek runs west to east through the neighbourhood on its way to the lake, and it is one of four east Burlington waterways, alongside Tuck, Appleby, and Sheldon Creeks, that Conservation Halton remapped for flood hazard between 2021 and 2023. That ravine is also why the streets nearest the creek carry more trees and more topography than the flatter blocks further from it.

Lots here run wide, and the housing stock ranges from three and four bedroom homes on the interior streets to waterfront estates of 5,000 to 7,000 square feet along Lakeshore Road.

What homes cost in Shoreacres

The Hamilton board publishes Burlington-wide figures only, so the numbers in the band above cover the whole city: an average sale price of $1,064,663 across 146 September 2026 sales, up 0.4 per cent from September 2025. Shoreacres is overwhelmingly a single-family neighbourhood, and Burlington single-family homes averaged $1,360,500 in September 2026, up 6.2 per cent year over year, which is the closer benchmark, though it still blends every detached house in the city with the estate streets here. Based on the sales our team has tracked in the pocket, the market breaks into rough bands:

• Interior street originals: the entry point, postwar houses on the neighbourhood's inland streets, usually bought for the lot and the school with renovation budgeted in.
• Renovated and rebuilt homes: the bulk of the market, updated or newly built houses on the same generous lots, trading well above the city-wide single-family average.
• Lakeshore Road and the waterfront: the top of the pocket. Estates near Paletta Park and along the water command a premium with few direct comparables.

As in Roseland, the land carries the value. A dated house on a wide Shoreacres lot tends to hold up better in a softer market than a finished house on a narrow lot elsewhere, because the pool of buyers who want the land does not really shrink.

What to watch for

There are no condos or townhouses to speak of in Shoreacres, so the way in is a detached house, and a seven figure number is normal even on the inland streets. If you want the same south end character at a friendlier number, look at Elizabeth Gardens next door or Aldershot in the west end.

If a lot backs onto or crosses Shoreacres Creek, check the flood mapping before you buy. Conservation Halton finished a new round of flood mapping for the east Burlington creeks in 2023, and we check where a specific lot sits before you buy. The houses are postwar, full of charm, and the ones that have not been redone will need a realistic budget behind them. And a car is a given. The closest shopping, Appleby Mall, has approval for three mid-rise buildings on its corner, so expect some construction there over the next few years.

Schools

Burlington is served by the Halton District School Board and the Halton Catholic District School Board. Pauline Johnson Public School at 4350 Longmoor Drive is the JK-6 HDSB school inside the neighbourhood. Nelson High School on New Street, open since 1957, is the nearby public secondary school. For Catholic families, St. Raphael Catholic Elementary School sits at 4056 New Street, and Assumption Catholic Secondary School on Woodward Avenue is the HCDSB secondary school for this part of Burlington.

Boundaries move, so check with the boards themselves. Verify any specific address with HDSB's Find My Local School tool or HCDSB's Find Your School tool before you buy. We are happy to walk through it with you for a specific street.

Getting around

Shoreacres is a driving neighbourhood, and the QEW is close on both sides: Walkers Line to the west and Appleby Line to the east both reach the highway in a few minutes from most of the pocket. For rail, Appleby GO Station on the Lakeshore West line sits a short drive north at 5111 Fairview Street, with 2,814 parking spaces across its two lots. Burlington GO further west is also within reach. Burlington Transit runs along New Street on the neighbourhood's northern edge, and Lakeshore Road is the scenic route west into downtown Burlington or east toward Elizabeth Gardens and Oakville.

Shopping, dining, and amenities

Recreation is the neighbourhood's strength. Nelson Park on New Street has a 50 metre outdoor pool, rebuilt in 2017, plus a splash pad and a skate park. Inside the neighbourhood itself, Paletta Lakefront Park and Mansion at 4250 Lakeshore Road offers formal gardens, a waterfront trail with a suspended bridge, and public grounds around the restored 1930 estate.

For the practical list, Appleby Mall at Appleby Line and New Street covers groceries and pharmacy, and downtown Burlington, a short drive west along Lakeshore Road, covers the restaurant and waterfront side of life at Spencer Smith Park and along Brant Street.

Frequently asked questions

Is Shoreacres as expensive as Roseland?

The Hamilton board publishes no neighbourhood-level price data for Burlington, so we cannot give you a precise comparison. What we can tell you from our own work is that Shoreacres generally trades a step below Roseland for a comparable house, with the exception of the waterfront estates near Paletta Park, which compete with anything on the south side of the city.

Where exactly are Shoreacres' boundaries?

Most people describe Shoreacres as running from New Street south to the lake, between Walkers Line and Appleby Line. There is no official municipal boundary for the pocket, so treat this as the general area rather than a precise line, and ask us about a specific street if you want a direct answer.

What is happening with the Shoreacres Creek flood mapping?

Conservation Halton updated the flood hazard mapping for Shoreacres Creek and three neighbouring east Burlington creeks between 2021 and 2023. If you are looking at a lot near the creek, we check the current mapping status with Conservation Halton before you buy.

How does Shoreacres compare to Elizabeth Gardens?

Both sit in south-east Burlington on the water, and both are largely postwar housing on generous lots. Elizabeth Gardens, immediately east across Appleby Line, generally offers a lower entry point and sits closer to Appleby GO and the Oakville border. Shoreacres carries the creek ravine, Paletta Park, and a slightly higher price floor.

What schools serve Shoreacres?

Pauline Johnson Public School covers JK-6 inside the neighbourhood, and Nelson High School on New Street is the nearby public secondary. St. Raphael Catholic Elementary and Assumption Catholic Secondary serve Catholic families. Boundaries are set by the boards, so verify any specific address with the HDSB and HCDSB lookup tools linked above before you buy.

Explore more of our Burlington neighbourhood guides: Roseland, Elizabeth Gardens, Aldershot, Tyandaga, Downtown Burlington, Millcroft, The Orchard, Alton Village. Market numbers for the whole city are on our Burlington data hub.

Sources used on this page: Active Parents, Neighbourhood Guide profile, Conservation Halton, City of Burlington's project page, HDSB's school page, Nelson High School, Wikipedia, Halton Catholic District School Board, HCDSB, GO Transit, Global News, Active Parents.