List price: $1.995 million
Days on market: 6
Number of offers: 6
History: Sold for $931,000 (2008)
Selling points
“One of the things that are so great about it is that the property hadn’t been traded in more than 50 years [in 2008],” said listing agent Justine Deluce, Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd. “So it was restored and renovated with an eye to keeping the original architectural integrity of the home. Another appealing thing about the property is the size of the lot with a width of 45 feet and a depth of 131 feet.”
The size of the lot means that the home attracted interest both from those that love the charm and want to keep it as it is and also from those who might want to do something else with the property down the road.
Neighbourhood
Lytton Park is a leafy enclave that has many forms of transit nearby to get downtown, in addition to an abundance of parks and green space. But the schools make it a desirable area for young families.
“Nice detached homes in this area don’t come up often, anywhere in central Toronto really,” said Deluce, “but particularly in coveted neighbourhoods such as Lytton Park.
It’s very attractive for families because of the excellent schools that fall into the district, schools like Allenby Junior, Glenview Senior, Lawrence Park Collegiate, North Toronto and Northern. Plus it’s very close to private schools such as St. Clements School, Havergal and Upper Canada College.
What went down?
The home sold swiftly after less than a week on the market. According to Deluce, the offering night was six days following list, and the activity, although expected, was surprising.
“We had almost 50 showings on property and almost 100 through the open house. On offer day, a week from listing, we got 10 offers on the property,” she explained. “I think we expected it would be likely we would see a couple of offers that evening, but we had 10.”
What does it all mean?
Although there have been reports of mortgage rate hikes and what that might mean for the market down the road, Toronto is still knee-deep in a sellers’ market.
“I would say certainly, with detacheds and semi-detacheds in central neighbourhoods like Lytton Park, there is such a lack of supply, when something comes to market in a great location and it’s priced properly, it attracts a lot of attention,” said Deluce.
“Interest rates have risen sharply since the U.S. election in anticipation of fiscal stimulus and increasing inflation. With the rise in five-year Canadian government bonds, mortgage rates in Canada have already increased roughly 20 to 40 basis points. This should slow housing along with the regulatory measures taken by Finance Minister Morneau in October," Sherry Cooper, chief economist, Dominion Lending Centres.
