North Toronto House

Busy North Toronto House Showings this week …

Stories!

8 minute read

March 23, 2018

I sat down tonight to write a blog, and all I could think about was this past week.

It was a busy one.  Busier than usual.  And it kept me on my toes, and tired me out.

So with no real dedicated topic on my mind, and the effect of the last week burning a hole in my head, I figured – hey, that’s a topic in itself!

Let me explain the week that was, which I figure will accurately snapshot the current marketplace…

WeekThatWas

People often ask me, “How do you consistently come up with three ideas per week for a blog post?”

The truth is, I don’t really have an answer.

The response I give, along with a shrug, is “I dunno; I just do.”

And that really is the truth.  Something always seems to come to mind.

Don’t get me wrong – every day, I ask myself, “Is this the day you finally run out of things to write about?”  After eleven years, and 2,300 blog posts, I feel like one day I’ll just hit a wall, and never be able to come up with another topic.

So I was kind of sitting here, going through a list of old topics (I keep a list, but the ‘hot’ ideas find a way to the blog, whereas the top of the list always contains the same seven or eight topics from last month, or last year, that I’ll never put to print), and all I could think about was how nuts this past week was.

I started to think about, yet again, how I disagree with the sentiments out there that the market is cooling.  I met with a group this past week in from New York, and they kept pointing to all this negative data – on sales, on price, on listings, and I regaled them all with stories “from the trenches,” and argued that at least in the core of the 416, the market is red-hot.

I started to think about how if I could explain, in detail, just one week of my activity in this market, how it could truly sum up what type of market we’re in.

And then, came the idea for the blog: write about THAT!

So while the last week’s events are not representative of every agent, or every buyer/seller, or every segment of the market, I figured it would give you all a real snapshot of what the activity is like out there, in different areas, price points, and housing types.

Monday was a busy day.

Sometimes in this business, you know when the day is going to be busy, and sometimes you don’t.

You can always plan for that buyer client who is absolutely jet-set on making an offer on a property with a scheduled “offer night,” but what about buyers that aren’t “all-in?”

What happens when several buyers, all who said, “We’ll see,” end up saying “We’re in” all at the same time?

On Monday morning, I knew I would be making an offer on behalf of one young couple who were eyeing a North Toronto home.  Offers were scheduled for 7pm, we had our deposit cheque ready, our offer was registered, and after seeing the house during one evening the week before, and again at the open house, we were just about as “all-in” as one can be.

But before I could get to 7pm; way before, in fact, I heard from another couple who wanted to make an offer on a small rowhouse that had been languishing on the market.

When was the last time you saw a freehold on the market for 111 days?

This property was unique to say the least.  It was charming, filled with character, and historical – dating back to the 1880’s.  But it was tiny, and it had previously been tenanted, hence why it didn’t sell.  It was also terribly over-priced, and the seller had already turned down several offers.

Listed at $799,900, we came in at $700,000, just because we could.

I had another client in the mix who had been active in the hottest part of the market: the small 1-bedroom, downtown condo market.

1-bedroom units in King West are routinely selling for over $1,000/sqft, and after seeing a unit at 11 Charlotte Street sell for $1,150/sqft a few weeks ago, I felt like anything under $1,000/sqft was reasonably-priced.

She and I had been actively looking for 500’ish square feet, around $1,000/sqft, in a new building, with a good layout.  And while that sounds simple, trust me – it’s not.  A good layout in 480 square feet is a misnomer.  I just came from a shoebox at 111 Bathurst Street that has such a bad layout, it’s a glorified kitchen with a couch and bed.

So throughout Monday afternoon, I was periodically checking on the number of offers registered on a condo we were eyeing at 101 Peter Street, and by late-afternoon, there were none.

While this is all confusing in nature, let me summarize.  Offer #1 was on the North Toronto property.  Offer #2 was on the old rowhouse.  Offer #3, yet to be decided on, would be the condo at 101 Peter Street.  And all the while I was still monitoring new listings as they became available, preparing for upcoming listings and smashing handfuls of my special Bulk Barn mix into my pie-hole.

While monitoring new listings on Monday afternoon, I saw a dynamite new listing for a property in Cedarvale, listed just under $3,000,000, that was p-e-r-f-e-c-t for buyers of mine that had been looking for about six months.

Every buyer has specific criteria, but to what extent, is always yet to be determined.

These buyers weren’t picky, and they weren’t unreasonable.  They just wanted a certain type of property, and we really hadn’t seen anything out there yet – in between work commitments, weekends out of town, and “life” that gets in the way of seeing every property listed for sale, that was worth pursuing.

So here in the middle of offer mayhem, I had to get these clients out asap to see this hot new listing.

I know it’s crazy to suggest that a house, priced at $2,899,900, would sell in a matter of hours.  But in this case, I figured if we didn’t tie it up within 18-24 hours, there would be multiple offers.  The same thing happened with a house down the street only weeks earlier.  They were listed at $2.5M with no “offer date,” and it sold within 24 hours for $200K over list.

I sent one of my colleagues out with the buyers, and waited to hear back.

By now, there were still zero offers on 101 Peter Street, so my client decided to proceed with an offer.

We were in sign-back on Offer #2 – the small rowhouse.

And by 7:00pm, Offer #1 had been submitted.  Listed at $1.5M, we were at $1.7M, and there were eight offers in total.

My clients for the Cedarvale home were absolutely in love, so that quickly became Offer #4, and we scurried to try to tie up the property.  We submitted an offer by 9pm, with a 12pm irrevocable the next day, even though the listing agent was demanding a 24-hour irrevocable.  We just didn’t want him to shop our offer, and didn’t want to allow time for other offers to come in.

Low-and-behold, the condo at 101 Peter Street ended up with nine offers.  We submitted our offer at 7pm when there were only three offers, but six more were submitted.

Offer #1 on the North Toronto house was lost.  Eight offers, and it sold for $350,000 over asking.  That was $150,000 more than our bid.

Offer #2 on the small rowhouse was in another sign back, and would wait until Tuesday.

Offer #3 on the 101 Peter Street condo went nowhere.  $449,900 list, our $500,000 bid didn’t hold up, although interestingly, they terminated the listing the next day.

Offer #4 on the Cedarvale home would also wait until Tuesday.

Tuesday.

Yes, bring on Tuesday.

On Tuesday afternoon at 2:00pm, offers were being reviewed on an east-end house in which another set of buyer-clients were interested.

That 2:00pm offer time was great, since I had another offer presentation at 7:00pm, and most properties follow the same timeline!

By noon, Offer #2 on the small rowhouse was accepted, and here I had the first purchase of 7% under the list price in about eight years.  As I said, it was over-priced, and on the market for 111 days, but it’s very rare to see that sold of sale-to-list ratio.

Offer #4 was still in play.  We extended our irrevocable until 6:00pm, from 12:00pm, not by choice, but out of necessity.  12pm had passed, and the seller hadn’t chosen to work with the offer.  We re-submitted, and hoped that no competing offers came in.

At 2:00pm, I presented Offer #5 for the east-end house.

Listed at $850,000, we were at $976,000, up against twelve other offers.

Who said the market was slow, right?

The 2:00pm presentation time was a gift from God, as the day was really heating up.

And low-and-behold, a buyer that I did not expect to hear from, with whom I had toured a west-end property with on the weekend, reached out to say, “After much discussion, we’ve decided we will proceed with an offer tonight.”

That would eventually become Offer #7, but it’s okay – offers were by email, and had to be reviewed by the estate’s lawyer overnight.

By 5:30pm, there was good news, and bad news.

The good news was, Offer #4 was accepted.  This house was worth every penny of the $2,899,900 list price, probably more.

“Probably more,” he says.  I know, I know.  What a salesman, right?

But honestly folks, I was fully expecting the phone to ring, and hear the listing agent say, “Soooo……we have another offer registered.”

I can’t possibly tell you how many times that happens, and I had already told my clients for this house, “Be prepared.”

It didn’t happen, however, and we bought a house.  A true “forever house” for these guys, and I couldn’t be happier.

So that was the good news, but the bad news is, my young buyer-couple who had bid on the east-end 3-bedroom semi had lost.

Offer #5 went down in a blaze of glory.  $850,000 list, $976,000 bid – the property sold for $1,020,000.  There were thirteen offers in total.

I skipped past offer #6, did I not?

That was the offer to be presented at 7:00pm, which was for a gorgeous Victorian rowhouse in need of some serious updating.

listed at $799,900, we bid $1,005,000, against eleven other offers.

The wait was not long.  I enjoy working with this agent, as he represents one of perhaps a dozen listing agents in the core that I like, and naively or not, trust.

Alas, we were not successful with Offer #6.

Who would have thought that $205,000 over list – 25%, would get “soundly beat” by not one, but two other offers?

I don’t know the sale price yet, but I’m assuming it’s around $1,040,000.

Tuesday nights hopes were resting on Offer #7, for the west-end home.

Listed at $879,900, in what we know is the most difficult segment of the freehold market (as Offer #5 and Offer #6 demonstrate), we bid $1,066,000, against ten other offers.

And we waited.

We waited, overnight, which is the worst feeling a buyer can have.

All offers were submitted via email, and to be reviewed by the estate’s lawyer.  A decision would be made on Wednesday morning.

And how did we do?

Did our offer of (gasp!) less than $200,000 over the list price prevail?

No.  No, it did not.

The property sold for $1,101,000, and we had no regrets.  It needed a lot of work, and as is always the case, we came into this thinking $1,000,000 “and change” was a good price, realized that we would have to pay far more based on the strength of the market – and the fact that nobody gets “a good price” for a house like this, and eventually settled at $1,066,000.

Sometimes you wake up the next morning feeling sick, and sometimes you laugh it off.

This one was a laugher.

I rounded out Wednesday by promptly losing Offer #8 for a fantastically unspectacular, cookie-cutter condo, up against four other offers.  Listed at $579,900, we bid $601,000, and the listing is currently sold conditionally (imagine that – accepting a conditional offer in competition??), so I don’t know the price yet.

So that’s it, folks.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – eight bids on eight properties.

Two were successful.

And I wouldn’t be writing about this so openly if I thought this was a blight on me.  It’s the nature of the market.  You need to be active to succeed.

I told a colleague, “I was 2 for 8” this week, and he said, “Not bad eh?”

You’d think 2 for 8 is a poor performance in just about anything, but in the Toronto real estate market, especially in this hot spring market, it’s decent.

As I write this – Thursday night, I have an offer in on a “luxury” condo, but they don’t sell in the same manner, and there’s no rush, risk, or anxiety.

And we haven’t even got to Friday yet.

So what’s the take-away here?  That I’m bragging about being busy like most agents, who aren’t?

No, it’s simply that in the face of Toronto Star readers who write letters to the editor, complaining about pumping the tires of the Toronto real estate market, and coming up with conspiracy theories about how the Toronto Real Estate Board pays the media to be positive, I wanted to demonstrate what one week is like during the current market cycle.

This isn’t representative of the whole of Toronto.  I’m talking about the core of the 416.  Strip away 905, trim the fat from the 416 – and that is the area that’s red-hot.

The six properties that had multiple offers this week had 8, 9, 13, 12, 11, and 5 offers respectively.

That is the market I see out there today.

Maybe it will change come April, when listings should be plentiful.  But better weather and more listings also brings more buyers, so it might just be more of the same.

Here’s looking forward to a busy weekend ahead, with a ton of east-end showings, a stop at the Shangri-La, a quick jaunt into Leaside, and a tour of everything between Keele & Jane just to cap it off.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Written By David Fleming

David Fleming is the author of Toronto Realty Blog, founded in 2007. He combined his passion for writing and real estate to create a space for honest information and two-way communication in a complex and dynamic market. David is a licensed Broker and the Broker of Record for Bosley – Toronto Realty Group

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44 Comments

  1. Ralph Cramdown

    at 8:02 am

    A place near me is at 175 DOM through three price drops totalling 17%. Super prime ‘hood, detached and shows great, marquee brokerage and team. Different market, I guess.

    1. chT

      at 8:41 am

      Where do you live if I may ask?

      1. Ralph Cramdown

        at 8:51 am

        M5P

    2. Kyle

      at 9:40 am

      An unrealistic seller is not indicative of the market for an overall neighbourhood. There are some houses that have been listed continuously for years. 42 Delaware Ave is a good example.

    3. iwill

      at 9:45 am

      That can happen in the +$6M price range. not indicative of the overall market.

      1. Ralph Cramdown

        at 12:45 pm

        Wasn’t meant to be indicative of the overall market, merely an anecdote antidote to another of David’s “people say the market is slow, but how ’bout this bidding war!” posts. Overall, median and average sale prices for 416 detached are still below last fall’s peaks. But what will happen after the holidays? Beats me.

        Toronto luxury inventory is climbing (e.g. see https://twitter.com/areacode416/status/973589236720062465 ). That segment has turned to crap in New York and London, for those who dare to compare…

        1. Chris

          at 12:53 pm

          That was how I interpreted your post as well. David’s post offers anecdotes of a red-hot market. Your post offers an anecdote of the opposite. Neither should be taken as “indicative of the overall market”.

          1. Kyle

            at 1:16 pm

            Completely disagree. Not all anecdotes are created equal.

            David’s examples are actual transactions, the levels they sell at go into the overall market. On the other hand, unless Ralph’s example actually sells it has 0 impact or bearing whatsoever on the market.

          2. Chris

            at 1:42 pm

            “Completely disagree.”

            Well colour me shocked.

            If you’re in the market for a condo at 101 Peter St., then David’s anecdote is indicative of your target market.

            If you’re in the market for a comparable home (size/area/etc.) to the one Ralph refers to, then his anecdote is indicative of your target market.

            Neither one, nor any of the other anecdotes, are indicative of the overall market, also known as the GTA or the region TREB covers. Both Ralph and I explicitly stated that. David even makes that clear at the end of his post.

          3. Kyle

            at 2:38 pm

            “If you’re in the market for a comparable home (size/area/etc.) to the one Ralph refers to, then his anecdote is indicative of your target market.”

            You’ve missed my point – his anecdote is NOT indicative of the market for comparable homes. Just as a good-till-cancel Sell order for AAPL at $400 per share is NOT indicative of the market for Apple stock.

          4. Chris

            at 3:04 pm

            A sell order for AAPL at $400, or any price really, is absolutely indicative of the market. In this example, its failure to receive a buyer would serve as a clear sign or indication that the market price is below this level. A simple glance at AAPL’s market price would make abundantly obvious.

            Likewise, in the Ralph’s example, this house is indicative for the market of comparable homes that something about it is causing it to fail to receive a buyer. That provides insight, in the absence of a clear market price, such as is available for AAPL or other publicly traded derivatives.

          5. Chris

            at 3:10 pm

            Further, just because “David’s examples are actual transactions” and “the levels they sell at go into the overall market” does not make them anymore indicative of the overall market (again, the entire market) than Ralph’s example. I’m sure I could pull up anecdotes of houses in the 905 selling for significantly less than they would have received at this time last year; but that’s not indicative of the overall market either, now is it?

            This is the point I was making, which you claimed to “completely disagree” with.

          6. Kyle

            at 3:20 pm

            First, I never said or implied any of these anecdotes are indicative of the overall market.

            Second, market prices are established by actual sales prices, so yes David’s examples are 100% more indicative of the market (be it for comparable like for like or the overall) than the $6.5M listing price of something that isn’t selling. That’s what “indicative price” means – the price something will probably sell at.

          7. Chris

            at 3:33 pm

            Chris: Neither should be taken as “indicative of the overall market”.

            Kyle: Completely disagree. Not all anecdotes are created equal.

            Obviously there’s an implication here that you disagree with my point. If you can’t see how this would be construed from your post, well, I don’t really know what to say, other than to suggest you more clearly articulate exactly what it is you are trying to get across.

            Second, a home that sells for $500,000 is indicative that the market price for comparable homes is ~$500,000. A home that fails to sell to $500,000 is indicative that the market price for comparable homes is <$500,000. Not sure why this is so contentious for you. Both examples provide insight into the market price.

          8. Kyle

            at 3:54 pm

            My first reply posted above. Why it’s contentious, is as i’ve already said the very definition of “indicative price” is what something is likely to sell for, not what it is unlikely to sell for. So a price that simply provides some insight that may narrow down price discovery is NOT the same as being indicative.

        2. Whaaa?

          at 3:21 pm

          “Overall, median and average sale prices for 416 detached are still below last fall’s peaks.” Really?

          Merriam-Webster defines fall/autumn “in the northern hemisphere” as “September, October and November”.
          416 detached average sale price (September 2017) $1,355,234
          416 detached average sale price (October 2017) $1,287,765
          416 detached average sale price (November 2017) $1,276,184
          416 detached average sale price (January 2018) $1,283,981
          416 detached average sale price (February 2018) $1,282,240

          I don’t know about you, but to me, the average price of a 416 detached looks pretty stable over the past few months. Even the 5.4% decline from September to February isn’t exactly “well down.” Sure, prices across the board are well down from last spring, but that’s not what you wrote. I expect better from you.

          1. Ralph Cramdown

            at 8:14 am

            Expect what you will. If somebody was thinking about selling last fall, but didn’t like the look of the market and waited until today, it appears not to have worked out, so far. $70,000 may be small potatoes to you, but I figure that for a typical household selling a $1.3mm Toronto house, it would take a LONG time to save $70k out of wages.

          2. Whaaa?

            at 2:05 pm

            Sorry, but in my view, that’s drilling down way too much from city-wide averages to John and Jane Doe. A minuscule 1% month-to-month decline in average detached price therefore costs innumerable detached owners thirteen grand, simply because they may have been “thinking about” selling?

  2. Paul

    at 10:30 am

    I’ve noticed a ton of new listings in March so I wouldn’t think April is going to bring a huge bump.

  3. Geoff

    at 10:52 am

    what area is ‘north toronto’ ?

    1. Kyle

      at 11:04 am

      This is a very good question. And for that matter, what’s Midtown, East End and West End?

      1. Natrx

        at 3:39 pm

        I was thinking North Toronto is typically in the Eglinton area, but that’s generally mid-town. I’m willing to bet it’s closer to Lawrence, possibly up to York Mills, bounded by Leslie and Bathurst. I know of the East Toronto property (Coxwell n Danforth area) just because of seller in the area mentioning the amount sold and biddings. Junction, I consider more West end.

        1. Kyle

          at 4:08 pm

          Yup i agree with your definitions on North Toronto and East End, but i’m finding not everyone else does. After living in Toronto for over 4 decades, i’ve noticed the boundaries people use are very inconsistent. And can change with the context (e.g. “going downtown for a drink” usually means S of Bloor, but “living downtown” can often refer to people in the Annex, Seaton Village, Yorkville, Summerhill, etc)

          In my S-N view:
          DT = lake to Bloor
          MT = Bloor to Eg
          NT = Eg to 401
          UT = 401 to Steeles

          In my E-W view (many have other opinions though):
          EE = Coxwell to Church
          DT = Church to Dufferin
          WE = Dufferin to Humber

      1. Geoff

        at 12:11 pm

        I meant as specifically relates to the ‘north toronto home’ in the story. Which has an actual address. people.

        1. Ralph Cramdown

          at 12:33 pm

          David doesn’t kiss and tell, and he always changes the details so properties can’t be identified by casual blog readers. So probably the Junction.

          1. Chris

            at 12:51 pm

            It was straightforward enough to identify the Peter St. condo, given address and price.

            101 Peter St. Unit 2110, listed March 13, 2018 for $449,000, listing terminated on March 21, 2018.

          2. David Fleming

            at 4:08 pm

            @ Ralph

            You’re correct – I usually change things around.

            But this time, I didn’t. The North Toronto house was in North Toronto, as were the west end, east end, etc.

            I just can’t give out the addresses, or I’d be guilty of (gasp!) breaking RECO and TREB’s archaic rules. I’m already on their sh!t list for the post I wrote about how many transactions agents do, and I’m officially persona non grata. They’re even giving my office manager the cold shoulder.

  4. Natrx

    at 3:24 pm

    I was just saying this to my wife as I was looking at sold listings…. certain markets are Hot again. Those in the more recent traditional desireable areas of Toronto. The family homes. Nicer Detaches in the $1.5 mil to $2+ mil. range. The 3 bedroom semis are back.. I know the east end Semi being discussed here with 13 offers.. it’s at the Coxwell and Danforth area. I know someone selling there, similarly and cited that as a comparable. Now this is still a far cry from the $1.2-$1.3 mil. range we were seeing last year for these houses, but the multiple bidding wars are back as spring is here, and people feel more settled. It seems limited to ‘old’ Toronto.

    Without foreign money, I don’t see the Scarborough bungalows, the GTA (Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, etc.) cardboard homes going thru what is going on in the core of Toronto area. Ultimately, higher mortgage rates, stress testing, will cap the prices that we saw last year (prob for the average higher earning couple, about 200-250K of borrowing power has been reduced). Ultimately, the forever, nice home will continue to draw the damand. There are some stories of financing not going through that I’m seeing as well.

  5. Kyle

    at 3:45 pm

    What i’m trying to say is very clear. I 100% disagree that Ralph’s example is even remotely close to being an equivalent anecdote to David’s examples.

    Let’s make it as simple as possible. Which do you think is more indicative of the overall market or the market for comparable properties or do you consider them to be equivalent as implied, by, “David’s post offers anecdotes of a red-hot market. Your post offers an anecdote of the opposite.”

    Ralph’s example:
    Forest Hill home listed for 6.5M not selling

    OR…

    David’s myriad examples which actually transacted and unlike Ralph’s example will all be included in this March’s avg sales price (i.e. “the overall market”):
    Row house listed for 799, sold for 700
    North Toronto home listed for 1.5M, sold for 1.85M
    Cedarvale home listed for 2.9M, sold for 2.9M
    Cedarvale home comp listed for 2.5M sold for 2.7M on a bully
    East end home listed for 850K, sold for 1.02M
    West end home listed for 880K, sold for 1.1M
    Victorian home listed for 800K, sold for 1.04M

    1. Chris

      at 4:06 pm

      This is a great example of a straw man fallacy.

      When I said “David’s post offers anecdotes of a red-hot market. Your post offers an anecdote of the opposite.”, that is exactly what I meant. At no point did I state or imply that they were equivalent. I made a very clear, factual statement, which I summarized with my overall point of “Neither should be taken as indicative of the overall market”.

      You, however, are trying to refute me and my position, by refuting an argument that I never presented. You have fabricated this argument:

      “I 100% disagree that Ralph’s example is even remotely close to being an equivalent anecdote to David’s examples.”

      When I, at no point, stipulated this as my position.

      So let me make my position perfectly clear for you, Kyle. Anecdotes are, whether from Ralph or David, whether sales or lack thereof, poorly indicative of the overall market. For a good indication of the overall market, we turn to statistics and data. This is my point. If you wish to argue against this, then have at ‘er. But do not fabricate straw men to attack, and then try to pass them off as my position all along.

      If you have nothing more to add, and simply wish to debate the semantics of the word “indicative”, then I will wish you a good weekend, as it is far too nice out these days to spend time on such trivialities.

      1. Kyle

        at 4:13 pm

        FINALLY! Now you see how frustrating your cheap and annoying tactics like reframing arguments into what they are not and using dictionary definitions are when i use them against you.

        Have a great weekend.

        1. Chris

          at 4:20 pm

          Nice to see you admit your errors, Kyle.

          Please feel free to call me out on them if/when I make straw men arguments, or succumb to any other fallacies.

          You’ll also notice that at no point did I get annoyed, resort to ad hominem attacks, or rude and inflammatory comments. Maybe that’s a tactic of mine you really should try employing?

          1. Kyle

            at 4:36 pm

            Far easier to not lose your cool, after only a couple of cheap arguments. Less so when continually faced with dozens and dozens of them long after you’ve called them out..

          2. Kyle

            at 4:56 pm

            And just to be clear, I wasn’t making a strawman argument at all, you absolutely implied they were equivalent.

            Chris: “Further, just because “David’s examples are actual transactions” and “the levels they sell at go into the overall market” does not make them anymore indicative of the overall market (again, the entire market) than Ralph’s example. “

          3. Chris

            at 5:15 pm

            More anecdotal evidence is better, so fair enough, I erred by saying the piece about “anymore indicative”, as David provides more numerous examples than Ralph. But I stand by my original point that both are poorly indicative of the overall market.

            As to your rudeness, you may seek to justify it however you see fit. I maintain that it is uncalled for, and you alone are responsible for it. When I lose my cool and say things that needn’t be said, I do not seek to shift the blame to someone else. It is upto me to control my temper.

  6. Appraiser

    at 6:34 pm

    So you met with a group from New York. This wouldn’t be the same gaggle of housing bears from the “short Canada” crowd of a few years ago would it?

  7. Whaaa?

    at 2:44 pm

    Sorry, Chris, your “all anecdotes are the same, i.e. valueless” (I’m paraphrasing here, so chill, man) doesn’t hold water. Who is Ralph? Do you know him? Trust him? Can you assert that he (or she) is who she (or he) says he (or she) is? David is a definable person, working in the industry. Whether you believe him or not, you can’t deny that he’s much more than a guy (or gal) on the internet spouting whatever he/she feels like. David’s anecdotes may be “mere” but you can’t deny that, as Kyle points out (oh, I agree with Kyle, so much for my cred with Chris), his are/will be included in the statistics you claim to revere. Ralph’s? Not so much. Unless Ralph is someone I (should) “know.” If so, please enlighten me.

    P.S. When Ralph’s “this house hasn’t sold yet” example actually sells, will we (i.e. readers of this blog) hear about it?

    1. Chris

      at 5:00 pm

      Typically when you paraphrase someone, you do not put the statement in quotation marks, as this indicates a direct verbatim quote…anyways…

      I have already articulated my position, and don’t have much more to add. I’ll reserve judgement until the March 2018 Market Watch, when all the anecdotes across the GTA are properly compiled (which yes, will include David’s anecdotes in sales volume and selling price statistics, as well as Ralph’s anecdote in active listing statistics).

      You seem to question Ralph’s authenticity, or if he will update us on the home; these are questions for Ralph.

      You’ll forgive me if I don’t engage much further with you. The snarky tone laced throughout your post doesn’t really compel me to spend my Sunday afternoon debating you.

      Cheers.

    2. Ralph Cramdown

      at 8:19 am

      I am that I am.

  8. Bidio

    at 10:51 am

    Hey, what’s a little snark among (internet) friends?

  9. Bidio

    at 10:56 am

    And I agree that Ralph’s single in-passing anecdote carries less heft than David’s half-dozen, which admittedly don’t themselves carry all that much. But that doesn’t mean that David’s aren’t more important. They are, both because they’re more numerous and because they’re more detailed.

  10. Sardonic Lizard

    at 4:52 pm

    >> smashing handfuls of my special Bulk Barn mix into my pie-hole.

    David, I’m gonna need you to hand over the recipe to this mix, for…..reasons.

Pick5 is a weekly series comparing and analyzing five residential properties based on price, style, location, and neighbourhood.

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