54 CRANBROOKE AVE., TORONTO
ASKING PRICE $1,195,000
SELLING PRICE $1,401,000
TAXES $6,795 (2015)
DAYS ON THE MARKET Three
LISTING AGENTS Andrea Stark, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Johnston and Daniel Division, and Honey Moore, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.
The action: As an exclusive listing at $1.295-million before the Christmas holidays, this Lawrence Park residence with an unfinished basement didn't spark much reaction from fellow agents contacted by Andrea Stark and Honey Moore. So it was quickly relisted for $1.195-million on the Multiple Listing Service. That brought 70 buyers to its door, seven pre-emptive offers in three days and a final sale price $206,000 over asking.
What they got: Around 2000, this three-bedroom house was expanded and modernized by a two-storey addition with a sunken family room with double doors to an L-shaped deck, patio and professionally landscaped 25-by-110-foot lot, as well as a lavish master suite upstairs appointed his and her closets and a skylit bathroom.
Timeless essentials include a fireside living and dining area, and central kitchen with granite counters and slate floors, as well as two shared bathrooms, a second-floor laundry room and front-yard parking.
The agent's take: "You have the charm of the older-style house, but [the seller] did a two-storey addition, so they had a large sunken family room at the back," Ms. Stark says. "They had done everything in good taste and it was a smart layout … you could really see [yourself] bringing up a family there."
But what initially lured many buyers to the house was its address. "It's on a very nice block, you can walk to Yonge Street, the subway and Bedford Park school, which is a great school," Ms. Stark adds.