Etobicoke house snapped up

10 Graystone Gardens, Toronto

ASKING PRICE

$2.1-million

SELLING PRICE

$2.05-million

DAYS ON MARKET

47

TAXES

$9,652.26 (2016)

LISTING AGENT

Mike Donia, salesperson, Re/Max Realty Specialists, Inc., Brokerage

The Action: Vancouver's tax may be Toronto's gain. West end agent Mike Donia says he sold this Etobicoke home last week to buyers scared off Vancouver real estate by that city's new 15 per cent tax.

The 4,161 square-foot housee at 10 Graystone Gardens was listed with an asking price of $2.1-million. Mr. Donia, currently on a sales trip in mainland China, said the buyers noticed the home in an ad he had placed in a Chinese newspaper.

"Just spent three weeks here servicing my Asian clientele," Mr. Donia said in an e-mail. He said the Graystone property had sold for $2.05-million – "plus, we sold all the furniture."

He said the buyers had "bolted from Vancouver with the huge tax. They saw the ad in China in one of our full page ads and bought it. Three offers, but there was no competition – we sold it to them on the spot."

What They Got: The home has five bedrooms, six bathrooms and a finished basement.

The living room is situated on the second floor and looks out over the street. The kitchen is designed in a bold black-and-white colour scheme and has Caesarstone countertops, a Bertazzoni electric oven and stove and an Electrolux fridge and freezer combo.

There's an attached two-car garage and a backyard that boasts enough size to play tennis (though there's no court).

The Agent's Take:

Mr. Donia says that over the past four years he been to Asia "quite a bit on business." The advertisement enticed buyers with the property's sizeable 190-foot deep lot and a sale price denominated in U.S. dollars, highlighting the extra bonus buying power of the weak Canadian dollar.

Editor's note: The original print and online versions of this story incorrectly described the buyers as foreign. In fact, they have landed immigrant status in Canada. This online version has been corrected.