A Vaughan family listed their home for well below market value. After 125 viewings and 14 offers, it sold for $458,000 over asking

A Vaughan family listed their home for well below market value. After 125 viewings and 14 offers, it sold for $458,000 over asking

Who: Leda Oymakas, 42, manager of Moissanites by Livia; and her husband, Aret Oymakas, 46, owner of Livia Diamonds.

The history: In 2012, Aret and Leda bought a four-bed, four-bath detached in Thornhill for $833,000, then moved in with their three-year-old daughter, Olivia.

Shortly after, the family spent about $100,000 on renovations, gutting the kitchen, redoing all the interior floors and adding a flagstone patio (with a hot tub and gazebo) in the backyard.

Aret and Leda loved their neighbourhood. It had forested trails for nature walks and a family-friendly vibe, with lots of kids around Olivia’s age.

But getting to their boutique jewellery studio, located in St. Lawrence Market, involved a 45-minute drive on the DVP. Eventually, they got tired of spending $1,400 a month on 407 tolls and gas. And some features of the house, including the bathrooms and plumbing, were a bit outdated.

So, in March 2021, instead of spending the estimated $100,000 needed to upgrade the bathrooms and do other repairs, they decided to sell their place and, taking advantage of low mortgage rates, purchase a home along the Yonge subway line.

That way, they could take the subway to work rather than drive on the 407, saving them about $17,000 annually. In anticipation of more potential lockdowns, they were also looking for a bit more living space.

On March 16, Aret and Leda bought a six-bed, four-bath detached in Willowdale West, only a 10-minute walk from Finch station, from which they could take a 35-minute subway ride to work. But in order to meet their mortgage conditions, the Oymakases needed to sell their Thornhill home before the end of May.

The sell: Aret and Leda were hoping to get roughly $1.5 million for their place, based on comparables in their neighbourhood.

But on the advice of their agent, Andre Kutyan, the family listed their home for $1,195,000 million, well below market value, thinking it would generate interest and lead to a quicker sale. They were right.

After six days on the market, the home had 125 in-person viewings. And on the offer date, Aret and Leda received 14 bids in total, with a top offer of $458,000 over asking. That sealed it. The Oymakases sold their Thornhill home for $1,653,000, an increase of $820,000 since buying the place in 2012.

The outcome: The sale of their Thornhill home closes on June 1, and they plan to move into their Willowdale home on the same day.

Aret and Leda believe their home might still be sitting on the market if they hadn’t listed below market value. Plus, they think the pricing strategy helped them sell the home for at least $100,000 more than they would have gotten otherwise.

They’re looking forward to exploring the parks in their new neighbourhood this summer, along with an easier (and less expensive) daily commute to their jewellery store.