The Chase: after 30 years in Lytton Park, she went searching for a downtown semi
The buyer: Suzanne Christie, the 63-year-old president of the travel industry magazine Open Jaw.
The story: With the last of her three kids on the verge of moving out, Christie decided it was time to trade her family home in Lytton Park—a five-bedroom 1920s red-brick that she’d shared with her late husband for almost three decades—for something lower maintenance. She still wanted a house, preferably Victorian or Edwardian, but smaller, with modern finishes and a beautifully landscaped yard (she’d spent decades gazing out at “leafy, lovely views” and couldn’t imagine settling for anything less). Last summer, with help from Maggie Lind and Betsy MacDonald of Chestnut Park, she put her home on the market for $1.6 million and started searching for a renovated semi on a tree-lined street.
Option 1
Grace Street (near Dundas and Ossington). Listed at $1,200,000, sold for $1,461,190. After making an offer on this four-bedroom semi, Christie was blindsided by a bidding war, which inflated the price by almost $300,000. “It was extremely unpleasant,” she says. “I thought the bidding was closed, but then the sellers accepted a last-minute offer.” Feeling stung, she moved on.
Option 2
Pears Avenue (near Avenue and Davenport). Listed at $1,488,000, relisted at $1,370,000, sold for $1,349,000. This two-bedroom semi had a great location near Ramsden Park, which made up for some of the odd design features—like a rec room covered in white marble. Christie felt confident enough to submit an offer of $1.25 million. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
