BRIAN'S BLOG
Toronto Neighbourhoods: The Great Toronto Rebuild
November 21, 2014
As a follow up to a legendary Toronto real estate “bidding war for the record books” story, remember the dilapidated home in Roncesvalles that was up for sale a few months ago? The listing included the phrase “not for the faint of heart”?
It sold for over $150,000 over asking ($803,649). It’s about to be listed for $1.5M after a full renovation. According to the Star article, “The furnace hadn’t worked in years. The walls were grey from the soot kicked out by kerosene heaters. Windows were missing. The roof was a sieve.”
The Star’s Susan Pigg has written an interesting piece on this home and on Toronto’s aging housing supply, especially on what’s happening with the extensive renovations and how that’s affecting housing prices. If you’ve been in north Toronto, you’ve seen what’s happening with the old wartime bungalows. They’re being knocked down and being replaced by enormous homes that are completely at odds with the neighbourhood and the size of the lot.
One real estate consultant believes that the City of Toronto’s building approval process needs to be revamped – he suggests that it would be better to build two semi-detached homes on the property rather than one enormous home.
Click here for the article – it’s an interesting read