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38 METHUEN AVE., TORONTO

ASKING PRICE $499,000

SELLING PRICE $569,000

TAXES $3,500 (2012)

DAYS ON THE MARKET Seven

LISTING AGENT Myron Dylynsky, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.

The Action: Late last year, this detached, 1 1/2 -storey residence sat on the market for months listed for more than $530,000. The home was relisted this year with a different agent. To spark buyer interest, Myron Dylynsky dropped the price under $500,000. To downplay an uninspiring interior, marketing materials showed only exterior photography. Mr. Dylynsky also pushed up the listing two weeks early to get the benefit of house hunter traffic generated by a renovated bungalow for sale across the street. Though the sellers were skeptical about these strategies, they were pleased to receive five offers after a week of exposure.

What They Got: A 25-by-85-foot lot provides the foundations for this typical 80-year-old residence with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a galley kitchen and living and dining rooms with hardwood floors.

The basement is not finished, but has a separate entrance to a mutual driveway.

The Agent's Take: "It's pretty hard to find a home at $500,000 or $550,000 east of Jane these days, no matter what the condition," Mr. Dylynsky explains. "[Thirty eight] Methuen is west of Jane Street and homes … west of Jane Street have always been a little bit of a lower price, so the market is moving in that direction and picking up homes for significantly less money and then renovating them."

Hence, Mr. Dylynsky did not exaggerate this property's assets. "The house needed a tremendous amount of work, so I explained to the vendors we weren't going to take any pictures [inside] because any picture can make a house look better than it is," he notes.

"We had five or six people say, 'It's better than I thought it was,' which is a positive reaction, and that's part of the reason it went over in price."

Editor's Note: Done Deals contain information gathered from real estate agents, home buyers, home sellers and sale prices that are publicly available from government sources. While we try to publish Done Deals as soon as possible after the transaction has occurred, long closings can cause delays.

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