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Toronto Life’s top real estate stories of 2020

By Toronto Life
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During the chaos of 2020, when nearly everything in the city came to a grinding halt for long stretches at a time, the one thing that never stopped churning was the real estate market. Torontonians, it’s fair to say, are obsessed with the comings and goings of the market, whether they’re looking to buy, sell or stay put. We covered a multitude of stories—renters, buyers, upsizers, downsizers, flippers, renovators, and pretty much every other imaginable permutation.

But according to our roundup of the top articles of the year, readers were most fixated on narratives about people ditching the virus-ravaged city. That migration is understandable, particularly in pandemic times. Cooped up in our homes, without access to the many things that make city-living great, the impulse to leave—or at least to read about other people finding fresh air and more square footage elsewhere—was stronger than ever.

Our most popular story, however, was about the opposite trend: a Brampton family downsizing to a 700-square-foot condo in Liberty Village, which got more than 400,000 views. Readers also went bonkers for a first-person memoir by Austin Yeh, a 25-year-old investor who amassed an impressive real estate portfolio—all while living at home with his parents in Scarborough. And nearly 350,000 clicked on our story about the Gelbloom family, who built a laneway house in their backyard and rented it to their 30-year-old daughter.

Here’s our top 10 list from the crazy year that was.


Toronto Life ’s top real estate stories of 2020
No. 1: This family downsized from a 3,000-square-foot Brampton home to a 700-square-foot Liberty Village condo

By Ali Amad | October 15

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Toronto Life ’s top real estate stories of 2020
Austin Yeh photographed in his childhood home on March 18. Kate Dockeray/Toronto Life
No. 2: I’m 25, live with my parents and own 25 rental properties. Here’s how I did it

By Austin Yeh | October 22

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Toronto Life ’s top real estate stories of 2020
No. 3: These retired teachers built a $350,000 laneway house. The tenant? Their 30-year-old daughter

By Andrea Yu | December 4

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Toronto Life ’s top real estate stories of 2020
No. 4: A Toronto couple wanted to ditch the city—so they bought a $520,000 stone cottage in Orangeville

By Alex McClintock | October 10

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Toronto Life ’s top real estate stories of 2020
No. 5: These long-time Torontonians were retirement ready. So they bought a $475,000 home in Belleville

By Andrea Yu | November 14

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Toronto Life ’s top real estate stories of 2020
No. 6: A Toronto couple wanted more space during lockdown. They bought this Grimsby bungalow for $690,000

By Andrea Yu | November 5

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Toronto Life ’s top real estate stories of 2020
No. 7: A Toronto family wanted to escape the city—so they bought a $315,000 house in Bracebridge

By Maria Iqbal | September 11

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Toronto Life ’s top real estate stories of 2020
No. 8: I found my dream home in the country. Then the nightmare began

By Dana Ruprecht | May 7

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Toronto Life ’s top real estate stories of 2020
A real estate photo in The Blue Mountains, Ontario taken by Elevated Photos Canada.
No. 9: A Toronto couple could work remotely. So they moved this $1.6-million Blue Mountain mansion

By Jean Grant | November 9

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Toronto Life ’s top real estate stories of 2020
No. 10: “It feels like we live at a resort”: Why a technician and a law clerk traded Toronto for Port Colborne

By Alex McClintock | February 12

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