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The Home of the Week is a century-old Hamilton home faithful to its era, with some modern updates.Property Vision
This week: A startup promises condo discounts at a cost, and the CRA could help speed up your mortgage application. Plus, what $442,000 gets you in St. John’s and one property worth a look.
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Market intel
A startup wants to give you a steep discount on GTA condos – if you sign an NDA
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Usually, large investors are the only ones getting discounts on unsold condos if they buy in bulk, but QuietMarket wants to unlock those deals for average consumers.COLE BURSTON/The Canadian Press
Would you agree to keep quiet to save five- or even six-figures on a new condo? Real estate startup QuietMarket is promising to get individual buyers the major discounts on unsold units usually reserved for large investors buying in bulk. One recent buyer snagged a condo in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood for $663,000, a 44 per cent discount off the original $1.18-million listing price. But as Salmaan Farooqui reports, the savings the startup promises come at the cost of your silence.
As the condo crash has left developers eager to unload their unsold condos, QuietMarket sprung up to create an online marketplace for units in the Greater Toronto Area at discounted or unlisted prices. Founder Cara Hirsch says the prices of the units on QuietMarket are generally at least 10 per cent cheaper than what’s on offer on the resale market, and discounted up to 50 per cent compared to the units’ 2022 listing prices.
However, to see more than basic details about the roughly 100 units listed, users need to sign a nondisclosure agreement, something we’ve previously written about condo developers turning to but consumer advocates have cautioned against. Read Salmaan’s story about how QuietMarket works, and experts’ advice on how to limit your risk if you do give it a try.
Price Point
What kind of home can you buy with $442,000 in St. John’s?
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St. John’s famous Jellybean Row houses are popular for a reason, and this one comes in just under the city’s median price for a detached home.Re/Max Realty Specialists Inc.
If you’ve been dreaming of moving to St. John’s for years – or just since Netflix’s Newfoundland-set giant-squid thriller Below made a splash last month – you might be wondering how much bang you can get for your buck in Newfoundland and Labrador’s biggest city. St. John’s median detached home price hit $442,000 in September, slightly down from the summer, but as Shane Dingman reports, the province’s market is one of the few in Canada where sale and prices are rising in most categories.
So what does that get you in the city, compared to what the $723,000 national median home price or even $1-million could buy? From an iconic brightly-coloured Jellybean Row house to a million-dollar listing with ocean views, Shane takes you on a tour of St. John’s real estate market at every budget.
Which of the three homes is the best deal? Read Shane’s story, put yourself in a N.L. buyer’s shoes and cast your vote in our reader poll.
Apply within
The CRA could help save you time and money on your mortgage applications
If you hate digging up every pay stub, bank statement and tax return just to prove you make what you say you make, know that mortgage lenders enjoy going through all that paperwork even less. That’s why Ottawa is creating a pilot program that could speed up the process for borrowers and lenders – and help crack down on mortgage fraud.
The Canada Revenue Agency will establish and test a system for lenders to quickly verify mortgage applicants’ incomes with the agency in the next three years, according to a proposal in last week’s federal budget. As Salmaan Farooqui reports, this would make it even more difficult for someone to overstate their income to dupe lenders into a mortgage bigger than they can afford. “With the ability of AI to generate these documents, it’s getting harder and harder to confirm whether they’re fraudulent or not,” said Kevin Fettig, president of alternative mortgage lender CMI Financial Group.
And for all you straight-up mortgage applicants, lenders say the administrative savings of the income-verification portal could translate to slightly lower borrowing costs for you. Read Salmaan’s story on how the pilot program might help save money, time and the trees.
Design corner
Six chic sofabeds that are comfy for both sitting and sleeping
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The only thing harder than spending a night on a bad sofabed is finding a good one.Supplied
This year I finally parted ways with the IKEA pull-out couch that had seen me through nine years and six apartments, and my guests’ backs and necks have thanked me for it. But Matthew Hague writes – and I certainly found out – the only thing harder than sleeping on a bad sofabed is finding a good one.
Double-duty sofabeds have been gaining appeal as homes become smaller, and while they don’t exactly have a reputation for being chic, there’s now hope for finding one that is both stylish and comfortable. From a sleek, armless futon with multiple configurations to the justttt right “Goldilocks of couches,” here are six sofabeds to consider and experts’ advice for choosing wisely. (For what my months-long search is worth, I ended up going with a regular sofa and sleep kit from Cozey that fits one, and the reviews have been raves so far).
Home of the Week
A grand Georgian-style mansion gets its groove back
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The library and sitting room is filled with built-in shelves, and elaborate, Corinthian-column-inspired carvings fill the walls.Property Vision
5 Undercliffe Ave., Hamilton, Ont. – Full gallery here
This grand mansion is just over a century old, but it’s already lived a millennium’s worth of stories. Built by the prominent diamond-dealing Levy family, it was brought to near ruin by high-flying financier Ron Koval, who abandoned it in the late ’90s when he fled accusations of a massive $100-million fraud. But after he was caught and convicted in 2001, a couple who lived down the street, and their community, conspired to bring the Levy House back to its former glory.
Dr. John Miller and his wife Pat Miller tackled burst pipes, mould, caved-in ceilings and damaged heritage features with a little help from their friends, including a neighbour who restored all the doorknobs and hardware, and another who located an expert to replace the aged ropes and pulleys on the counterweight windows. It took almost a year, but now the century-old Georgian-style home is a faithful reflection of its era with a few modern updates.
Rich, dark-stained oak floors run through the central hall and two wings of the home, and the same wood clads the window trims, crown moldings and staircase with an air of grandeur. In the stunning library, built-in shelves and elaborate, Corinthian-column-inspired carvings fill the walls but were designed to leave gaps for large works from the Levy family’s significant art collection. The kitchen was renovated with white Shaker cabinets and dark floors to be cohesive with the home’s original features, and on the upper floors, a total of seven bedrooms offer plenty of space – though hopefully not for any more scheming.
What do you think is the asking price for the property?
a. $1,995,000
b. $2,395,000
c. $2,795,000
d. $3,195,000
b. The asking price is $2,395,000.