265 ST. CLEMENTS AVE., TORONTO
ASKING PRICE $1,395,000
SELLING PRICE $1,937,000
PREVIOUS SELLING PRICE $705,000 (2008); $340,000 (1999)
TAXES $7,634 (2017)
DAYS ON THE MARKET Six
LISTING AND CO-OP AGENT Andre Kutyan, Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd.
The Action: In late June, this three-bedroom house with private parking was strategically priced under $1.4-million to draw attention away from other midtown options and incite a bidding war.
"The key to doing that is you have to be very aggressive in the asking price," says agent Andre Kutyan, who ultimately juggled 11 offers.
"[Plus,] a big draw for the neighbourhood is the Allenby Public School district, so a lot of our buyer pool was coming from the immediate area, people with smaller homes with kids already in the public school."
What They Got: Hardwood floors and crown mouldings in areas such as the living and dining rooms allude to the 1929 origins of this 1,700-square-foot house on a 25-by-134-foot lot.
Modern luxuries are evident throughout, however, from remodelled bathrooms to a recent two-storey addition that enlarged a lower-level recreation area and created a family room off the kitchen. The latter also bears new granite counters, stainless-steel appliances, an island with bar seating and double doors to a south-facing deck.
The Agent's Take: "The home fits right into the neighbourhood – it's very unassuming from the outside – but the inside definitely has a wow factor," Mr. Kutyan states.
"It has a large addition in the rear … so the main floor is comparable to a lot of the new homes built in the area with 1,065 square feet."
Those changes also resulted in more headroom below.
"The ceiling height was about 8.5 feet in the basement, so it was very usable space. Typically, in these old homes you get six- to seven-foot ceilings," Mr. Kutyan adds.