Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Few Million?

The high-end housing market in parts of Toronto is certainly under siege.

The Toronto Real Estate Board division C-12 (bounded by Leslie, 401, Yonge and Lawrence) usually leads the list for the highest average monthly prices. It continues to do so, but listings are rising while sales dwindle.

MLS listings over $1 million have reached 127, with 96 of those listings exceeding $1.5 million. Monthly sales, which averaged 30-40 the first half of the year, were 21 in July, hit rock bottom in August of just 15, and moved up to 22 for September, including 15 over $1 million. So far this month: nada.


photo: TREB
What They Got For C$3,780,000
This brand new 6,500 sf 8 bath home on a 110x150ft. lot on Daleberry Place, southeast of Bayview Ave. & York Mills Rd., originally listed for C$3,980,000. Builder is Noik Homes

What's unique in C12 is that the supply of high-end homes is overwhelmingly new construction--completed in the last year or two and often occupied by the builders or under construction or finished and vacant. The supply will continue to swell through spring, as homes now under construction reach completion. (On one small Don Mills crescent alone there are six new homes under way or just listed, with only one a pre-sale.)
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I wonder if retired Maple Leafs enforcer Tie Domi's gated mansion at 11 Oxbow will sport a "For Sale" sign soon. His wife, Leanne, in whose name title is held, has filed for divorce, citing Tie's relationship with Belinda Stronach as the cause.

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And, just to put it all in perspective, Forbes has published its annual list of the most expensive homes now listed for sale in the United States. Topping the list was the Florida mansion of Mr. Chutzpah himself, Donald Trump, bearing a price tag of US$125 million. Trump, Forbes notes, picked up the property for only US$41.25 million in a bankruptcy sale; he's since had it painted or goldplated, or something in the taste fit for a Saudi prince.