Neighbourhood:Leslieville Price: $6,000 a month Size: 1,400 square feet Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2 Real estate agent: Trevor Bond, Bosley Real Estate
The place
How about a fantastical detached rental in the heart of Leslieville? The place is split into two homes: a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit above ground plus a separate one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit in the basement. It’s steps from Greenwood Park, has plenty of transit options and is a short drive from the DVP, Lake Shore and Kingston Road.
The history
Architect Craig Race and his wife purchased the former lot at this site in 2014 and split it into two separate properties. The idea was to build a fun family home from scratch that also advanced Race’s environmental goals—recycled materials, superior insulation, and passive heating and cooling. He designed it with an angled front wall, matching the setbacks of the neighbouring homes and adorning its façade with arched cedar shingles. The family lived in the upper unit from 2017 to 2022 before moving out to give their growing children more space. Now, it’s on the rental market for prospective tenants in the mood for a bit of whimsy.
It’s almost as if a tornado uprooted this house out of Munchkinland and dumped it in the east end. That’s the entrance to the basement unit on the left, just behind the garden bed.
Here’s the foyer, which faces north and doubles as a dining area. It has a quirky angled windowsill thanks to the building’s curved structure. The floors are polished concrete with radiant heating.
This reverse angle highlights the open-concept kitchen and living area. Race designed the red-oak ceiling to conceal plumbing and electrical.
The kitchen counters and backsplash are marble. That pendant-light cutout is actually a camouflaged speaker.
There’s additional storage underneath the stairs, and all the appliances are Thermador.
Now for the living area, equipped with recessed red-oak bookcases, a pair of classy sconces and a doggy door for Toto underneath the back window. Race salvaged the marble fireplace from his grandparents’ farmhouse in Northumberland County.
The back end of the home has its own thermostat, allowing sunlight to passively warm the space. Race says that even on the coldest winter days, things stay toasty if the sun is shining. Those windows and doors—imported from Europe—are triple-paned for sound and temperature insulation.
Upstairs, the main suite sits at the end of the hall, which comes with moody cinema lighting. There’s a skylight above the main staircase for added illumination and ventilation, and the heated floors are red oak.
The main bedroom comes with cathedral ceilings, LED-lit exposed beams and chic light fixtures. Believe it or not, the wall panel on the far left leads to the ensuite bathroom, and its counterpart on the far right exits to the hallway. The rest of the panels are closets.
Beyond those doors is a Juliet balcony overlooking the backyard.
Here’s that ensuite. It has heated ceramic tiles all over and an interior window that brings in natural light from the hallway.
Thankfully, there’s no Man Behind the Curtain in the secondary bedroom—just laundry and more storage. Those doors on the left lead to the shared bathroom and the interior guest room.
In the shared bathroom: slate floors, a floating vanity and a shower lined with subway tiles.
Outside, the rear is clad in galvanized metal siding.
Finally, the fenced-in backyard with its shade-creating tree. The herringbone patio can be used as a parking pad, and there’s an EV charger set up just beyond the frame.
Have a home that’s about to hit the market? Send your property to [email protected].
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales rose 9.3 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, with levels slightly higher than the historical average for this time of year.
The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,991 for the month, up from 2,737 in August 2023.
The median price for all housing types was up year-over-year, led by a six per cent increase for the price of a plex at $763,000 last month.
The median price for a single-family home rose 5.2 per cent to $590,000 and the median price for a condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $407,100.
QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says the strength of the Montreal resale market contrasts with declines in many other Canadian cities struggling with higher levels of household debt, lower savings and diminishing purchasing power.
Active listings for August jumped 18 per cent compared with a year earlier to 17,200, while new listings rose 1.7 per cent to 4,840.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
