APRIL 22, 2025

Dear reader,

Reporter Ali Amad always faces a hurdle when asking realtors to participate in Under Asking, our series on properties that recently sold below the list price. It’s not that the city’s army of real estate agents aren’t loaded with knowledge and advice. It’s that, in an industry that often promises gargantuan profits, selling for less seems like an admission of defeat.

That’s no longer the case in Toronto—especially in today’s minefield of a market: Trump insanity, inflation, high interest rates and shifting immigration policy have all ensured under-asking sales. That doesn’t mean owners should despair. As the agents in today’s Under Asking explain, savvy owners can still come out strong, and believe it or not, many sellers and buyers are working together to draw up mutually beneficial deals. Things really have changed. 

Also in today’s newsletter: $2.1 million for a downtown semi that once housed a law firm. And a property off Yonge inspired by Manhattan’s brownstones. For all our real estate coverage and more, visit torontolife.com or subscribe to our print edition.

—Barry Jordan Chong, city and real estate editor

Despite multiple Bank of Canada rate cuts, home sales this March were down nearly 24 per cent compared with the same time last year. Inventory, meanwhile, has surged. Active listings reached their highest level for March since 2009 as sellers rushed to offload properties. With buyers hesitant and options abundant, Toronto realtors are being forced to compromise. Here, three agents representing three very different properties explain why they sold at a discount this spring.

Here’s a 2,700-square-foot row house facing Norman Jewison Park that can transition between an office and a residence. It has conference centres, industrial flourishes, built-in bars and a rooftop deck with a skyline view. 

This four-bedroom, four-bathroom townhouse near Summerhill station comes with two garages, a terrace for grilling, an elevator, heated marble floors and a movie room in the 900-square-foot basement. 

In the latest issue: the firing that shook Bay Street. Plus, the joy of sex with strangers: a hotwife’s memoir, dispatches from the city’s most storied drag bar, and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? 

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