Tales From the Trenches
Five top realtors and their inside advice
Jilly Molloy, Chestnut Park
Image credit: James Pattyn
Jimmy Molloy
Chestnut Park
“On the cocktail circuit, you hear stories about homes going for $100,000 over ask, but I think the market will stabilize and grow steadily until at least 2011, barring a major catastrophe. Buyers need to be patient. They shouldn’t personalize the competition for houses. That’s how they overpay.”
Ophira Sutton
Sutton Group–Associates
“Rather than blowing your brains out on a single-family home, look for a multiplex that can be converted. In the Annex, buying a duplex for $650,000 and treating the upper two storeys as rental units will essentially knock the price down to $400,000 or $450,000, basically the entry price for a decent place in the city.”
Jeffrey Wagman
Forest Hill
“A house being listed for one day and receiving 10 offers is not normal and can’t continue. It still takes 30 to 60 days to sell most houses, and bidding wars have been diminishing. Though we’re not in a buyer’s market, it’s almost impossible to make a mistake if you buy in a good neighbourhood.”
Dianne Chaput
Royal LePage
“What’s surprising is that newly built houses are fetching more than older character homes on bigger lots. I hear all the time, ‘Oh honey, look, no grass to cut.’ Just when I think they’re over, the bidding wars continue. You just have to put a price ceiling at the point where you start to feel sick.”
Andrea Morrison
Royal LePage
“In this market, there’s no such thing as a good deal, though houses that need some work aren’t selling with as much abandon as those that have had recent renos and design updates. Bloor West Village is a real neighbourhood, so people are willing to pay up to $900,000 for a detached there.”
TEST Originally published September 2005
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12345 November 1, 20061
As a Real Estate Broker specializing in the Bathurst Manor neighborhood, I am thrilled to see you feature it as an up and coming area.
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