If you’re a long time reader of blogTO, this house might look somewhat familiar.
We wrote about 15 Citation Drive all the way back in 2019, when it was just a bungalow.
The bungalow was designed by prominent Toronto architect John Harold Bonnick to be his own family home.
It featured stunning architectural elements like wood tongue-and-groove panel ceilings and a spiral staircase to the basement.
The living room.
But since the house sold in 2019, it’s had a major glow up. So much so that it won the BILD’s RenoMark Award this March for Best Exterior Renovation.
A new bedroom.
The bungalow is no longer a bungalow, as a stunning second storey was added. But fret not, the new owners managed to keep the stunning details of the original mid-century home.
The sunken living room and dining room with exposed brick walls and a gas fireplace.
“We were very mindful to keep this type of architecture throughout, so that it would be hard to distinguish between the reno and the new build,” owner Spencer Feeley told blogTO.
The walkout basement with a spiral staircase.
You’ll notice the statement pieces, like the ceilings and staircase, are still very much intact and newly restored.
They also uncovered some other cool pieces that were original to the house.
The sunken dining room with the original exterior wall incorporated.
“During the renovation, we discovered the original purple brick in the lower living area that was the old rear exterior wall before an addition was put on the house in the 70s,” Feeley told blogTO.
“I wanted to continue to bring the outside materials into the house seamlessly, so I decided to leave the purple brick exposed inside the living room of the house,” he added.
“This tied in with the yellow brick at the fireplace, which mimics the purple and yellow brick at the front courtyard of the house.”
The original primary bedroom is now an in-law suite.
You’ll also notice the addition of expansive oversized windows, open riser stairs and loads of skylights, which make this house even more bright and airy.
The newly-renovated kitchen has been opened up to provide a view of the ravine lot and enhance the entertainment area.
The main floor is quite similar to the original home but the kitchen has been updated.
The open riser stairs.
It’s now sleek and modern but still very much fits with the overall aesthetic of the house.
The primary suite with a 16-foot patio door system to a large private deck overlooking the Marbelite pool and ravine.
The second floor is completely new with a more modern design, most notably in the primary suite with recessed LED lighting on the ceiling.
The primary ensuite.
The primary bedroom ensuite is also very modern with a double integrated sink, a massive two-person tube, and a very fancy shower.
The in-law suite.
The home has also transformed from a three-bedroom, three-bathroom house to a five-bedroom, five-bathroom home.
“If you’re a car enthusiast, you can have a view of your car from this bedroom,” said Feeley.
One of the bedrooms even has a window that looks into the garage that features a 12-foot hydrolic lift. In short, you can basically keep a car in your bedroom like art.
The glass floor.
Another indicator this is no longer a mid-century bungalow is the glass floor with integrated LED lighting in the foyer, which is basically a mini version of the CN Tower glass floor.
But functionally, Feeley told blogTO, “It’s to bring natural light from the skylight above down to the front foyer.”
The gym.
The house is now fully smart, thanks to the new smart home system. There’s also a state-of-the-art gym and a hobby room.
The basement rec room.
The basement has gone through some pretty cool upgrades as well with the addition of a fireplace and a wet bar with an under-counter wine fridge, making it perfect for entertaining.
The backyard with a large deck.
The outdoor space is still stunning with a Marbelite pool, and the large ravine the home backs onto makes it feel like you’re not even in the city.
An ensuite bathroom.
The home sold in 2020 for just over $2.5 million, but with all the additions, the home is now currently listed for $5,488,000.
The garage.
However, the uniqueness of the home means it’s had some trouble finding a buyer. This is its fourth time being listed this year, but then again, the original bungalow also took a while to sell.
The front entrance.
Mid-century homes aren’t for everyone, even if we think they’re the coolest.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
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.
