Wow!  And I thought the $7,000 per month that my client paid for his Hogg’s Hollow mansion in 2005 was a lot of money!

Here is a look at some of the most expensive properties for lease in the Greater Toronto Area, as well as a few surprises in our neighboring cities…

The world’s a crazy place, isn’t it?

Most of us feel the burn in our wallets on the first of each month when our rent money or mortgage payments come due, when all the while, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are renting a house for a paltry $350,000 per month.

But I guess it’s all relative, right?

I mean, if you’re making $20,000,000 per movie and you’ve got one of the most identifiable faces on the planet, maybe $350,000 per month is actually “money well spent.”

Majority of the lease agreements I negotiate in my business are for $1600/month condos or $2800/month houses, but I do get the occasional client who leads me off the beaten path.

I had a client who rented for $7,000 per month over the course of two years, and I thought he was somewhat nuts for doing so.  When he first told me the idea, I had that raised eyebrow look.

Yeah, something like that…

A quick look on MLS today revealed the following results for properties up for lease in and around Toronto:

Houses:
-There are currently thirty-nine houses for lease at a price of $10,000 per month or more
-26 of the 39 houses are in Toronto, while the other 13 are in Oakville (7), Mississauga (3), and one each in King, Brampton, and Vaughan.
-36 are detached homes, 2 are semi-detached, and one is a townhouse
-There are currently five houses for lease at a price of $20,000 per month or more
-The highest price is $53,500 per month

Condos:
-There are currently 14 condos for lease at a price of $10,000 per month or more
-ALL of these condominiums are in the Toronto area
-The highest price is $19,000 per month

Let’s look for a moment at the house priced at $53,500 per month.

Located on High Point Road in the all-familiar ritzy nexus of the Toronto universe that also brings us Post Road and the infamous Bridle Path, the house is a 14,000 square foot mansion with five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a water-fountain in the grand entrance, and last but not least, a really terrible listing on MLS.

That’s right – this $53,500 house is listed on MLS with no pictures!

Not only that, most of the description fields aren’t even filled out!  I guess the owners REALLY want to lease it, but I digress…

The house features swimming pools both indoors and outdoors, a tennis court, dance floor, bar, sauna, hot tub, gym, and my favorite: “newer roof.”  Well, at least we know the roof might not cave in at any time.

Let’s just assume for a moment that this is the single-greatest house that God, or Mike Holmes ever created.  Is it truly worth $53,500 per month to live in?

And who judges it’s worth or inherent value?

Who rents a house for $53,500 anyways?

I guess that’s the true question that needs answering.  Who rents a house for $53,500 and why?

The only people I can think of are CEO’s and celebrities.  Although with some of the recent business scandals, many of the former have turned into the latter anyhow…

If the $53,500 for the house on High Point Road is too rich for your blood, there is a more modest house for lease just up the street on The Bridle Path for an even $45,000 per month.

What does a paltry $12,500 per month get you?  How about a 100-year-old Victorian mansion on Hazelton Avenue in old Yorkville?

Or you could choose from a host of North Toronto “mansions” that are either owned by stubborn rich people who refuse to sell since they missed the peak of the market, or are owned by builders who are probably on the verge of bankruptcy but hope that the monthly rental payments will offset the interest on their accumulating debts.

Now this may sound strange, but I think there is a better chance of leasing one of the $45,000+ houses than of leasing a few of those listed at $10,000 – $12,000 per month.  Any CEO or visiting celeb in Toronto could scoop up the “best of the best,” but who the heck is going to lease some dime-a-dozen house for $10,000?  Certainly not Joe Q. Public, and certainly not the CEO or celeb if they can get a house that costs four times as much!

In the case of condominiums, perhaps it’s a little more straightforward.

Of the fourteen condos listed for lease in Toronto at $10,000 per month or more, twelve are located in Yorkville.  The other two are located at 2095 Lakeshore Boulevard in Mimico overlooking the water.

When the two “Toronto Brian’s” came to our city to help our floundering sports franchises rebound (Bryan Colangelo and Brian Burke of the Raptors and Leafs respectively), where do you think they ended up?

Do you think these guys were interested in driving up to Bayview/Lawrence every night to pull into a driveway and deal with snow, leaves, and lawn maintenance?

Or do you think they wanted a condo in Yorkville that is a five minute cab-ride to the Air Canada Centre and in the heart of our burgeoning city?

I think it’s a heckuva-lot easier to lease a $10,000 condo than it is to lease a $10,000 house, and the stats would back me up on that.

And if you’ve got $19,000/month to burn, there’s a unit for lease at The Prince Arthur at 38 Avenue Road.  It currently stands as the most expensive condominium for lease in the GTA and our surrounding cities.

In the meantime, I’ll aim to have my $1,600 mortgage payment ready for the first of every month.

Oh, but I might splurge and rent a storage locker for $35/month…