The Chase: a bachelor discovers that $1.2 million isn’t enough for the house of his dreams

The buyer: Bryan Ward, a 33-year-old product developer at an automotive and household goods manufacturer.
The story: After 10 years on Bayview north of Eglinton, Ward was fed up with the round-the-clock roadway din. His two-storey, 65-year-old house had also grown frumpy with age and was in need of a hefty cash injection. Ward wasn’t interested in living through a renovation, so he set a budget of $1.2 million and began his search for a modern, low-maintenance detached home. A year and a half later, the disillusioned bachelor realized that what he’d thought was a healthy budget wasn’t quite enough, and he started looking at semis. Finally, a luxuriously renovated Victorian caught his eye, and he quickly got over his fear of attachment.
Option 1
Sherwood Avenue (near Yonge and Eglinton).
Listed at $1,224,000, sold for $1,212,000.
Ward’s commitment to modernism was shaken by this cottagey home, with its wooden beams, hardwood floors and fireplace. Moments from bidding, his $30,ooo deposit in hand, he discovered a right-of-access issue threatened his laneway parking. The house lost its appeal.
Option 2
Spadina Avenue (near Harbord).
Listed at $899,800, sold for $865,000.
This ultra-modern open-concept townhouse with soaring ceilings and a private elevator seduced Ward the moment he stepped inside. Alas, the busy location was just as noisy as the Bayview house Ward was fleeing, so he decided to keep looking.
The Buy
Robert Street (near Bloor and Spadina).
Listed at $1,298,800, sold for $1,235,000.
“This house will be mine,” Ward thought upon walking into the 120-year-old renovated Victorian semi. He was wowed by its slick, bright kitchen (illuminated by six skylights) and reassured by the promise of easy upkeep. Sharing a wall didn’t seem so bad when everything else about the place was perfect. Ward offered $148,000 under asking. There were two other parties vying for the house, but both dropped out after the first round. It took four conditional counteroffers until the house was finally his—for $63,000 below the list price.
This is sooooo freaking depressing. Absolutely NO hope for 90% of the buying public who would love to live iN the city core.
supply and demand. everyone wants to live there, prices go up. sorry that’s life
What this city really needs is a serious influx of more spacious rentals. We need apartments that couples can afford to rent while they’re starting a family. We have way to many tiny condos now, filled with young upstarts who have nowhere to go for more space.
Same to be said for every major city; New York, LA, London, etc.
I wanna see how the Spadina option 2 house looks like! A private elevator?! And it is kind of sad when I see a $800k+ house in an article about million dollar houses and think, “what a steal!”
That’s life in the Big Smoke.