Sale of the Week: The house that proves $1.45 million is now a normal price for a teardown

Address: 53 Cobden Street

Neighbourhood: Willowdale

Agent: Helen Noh, Sutton Group, Admiral Realty Inc., Brokerage

The Property: A midcentury bungalow on a large corner lot.

The History: The house was built in 1950, when Willowdale was a little more like cottage country. The seller bought the place in 1980 and lived there with his family. Now he’s retired and his children have moved out, so he’s looking to downsize to a condo.

The Fate: The buyer plans to tear down the existing structure and build a brand new house. The spacious lot will make an ideal blank canvas.

The Sale: As soon as the house was listed, the agent was inundated with phone calls. There were two offers within 24 hours. The first one was about $250,000 over asking. The seller rejected it, because he suspected other offers would be higher. He was right: the second one was better, by $100,000.

By The Numbers:

• $1,450,000
• $3,969.61 in taxes (2016)
• 1,000 square feet
• 3 bedrooms
• 2 bathrooms
• 2 offers
• 2 days on MLS

Here’s the living room, at the front of the house:

The kitchen:

There are three bedrooms. Here’s one of them:

And another:

And a basement bedroom:

But the real attraction, here, is this massive lot: