Sale of the Week: The tiny $700,000 Parkdale cottage that proves size doesn’t always matter (that much)

Address: 22 Trenton Terrace
Neighbourhood: South Parkdale
Agent: Monte Burris, Keller Williams Referred Urban Realty, Brokerage
Previously sold for: $128,500, in 1996
The property
A 120-year-old worker’s cottage reimagined into a loft-like living space.
Here’s the foyer:
White paint on brick is the most potent weapon in the real estate stager’s arsenal. It can make any interior look like something out of a Scandinavian design magazine:
Here’s the dining area, with super-chic table and chairs:
The kitchen seems to make good use of the available space:
The family room has a ladder of unclear purpose:
The bedroom is on the second floor:
And there’s also an office nook:
And here’s the deck:
The history
The row houses on this tiny pedestrian walkway date back to the late 19th century, when they were two-room tenements for fishermen. The seller, a TTC worker who’s moving uptown, recently made some upgrades to the kitchen plumbing, the bathroom tiling, and the insulation.
The fate
The buyer, a first-time homeowner, loved the privacy of the laneway and the open floor plan, as well as the lush back garden:
The sale
The listing generated four offers. A young couple bid the highest, but they got cold feet and withdrew. The seller accepted the next highest offer, at $40,000 over asking.
By the numbers
• $690,000
• $2,838.29 in taxes (2015)
• 1,105 square feet
• 5 days on MLS
• 4 offers
• 1 bedroom