5 h. ago Toronto house built in 1858 has survived 150 years of change around it

If you live or work in Toronto's King-Spadina neighbourhood, you've most likely passed by this Toronto house numerous times without giving it a second thought.However, you might not know that the H.S. Strathy House at 342 Adelaide St. W. is a property that has weathered more than 150 years of change around it.Originally built in 1858, the two-storey home has endured well over a century of urban transformation, and somehow, against all odds, has resisted the wave of high-rises and entertainment venues that now surround it.The house, which was constructed in the Second Empire architectural style, has undergone a few alterations over the years. In 1876, a mansard roof was added, and the front store addition was added in 1912.H.S. Strathy House in 1950. Photo: City of Toronto Archives.Originally, the house was nestled in a modest residential and commercial area with buildings of a similar height, but now, it's dominated by the towering high-rises around it.In the 1920s, the propert...

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5 h. ago Eclectic Toronto house with views of the lake on sale for $5 million

Tucked away in The Beaches, 2 Park Avenue isn't just another luxury home — it's a slice of Toronto history wrapped in modern elegance.Originally built in 1911, this house has seen it all, explains listing agent Roxane Bryce. From its early days as an investment property in the late 19th century to housing prominent members of Toronto's Jewish community in the 1920s and 1930s, 2 Park Ave. has more stories than your average history book.The living room. It was once home to David Abramowitz, a businessman and key figure in the Toronto Zionist Organization, who, along with his wife Sarah, actively helped Jewish immigrants settle in Canada.Tons of windows make for a bright space. Over the years, the four-bedroom, five-bathroom home has played host to teachers, lawyers, and even a professor of plumbing who took his expertise to Malaysia.The breakfast area. Fast forward to today, and this 4,600-square-foot home has been completely reimagined, but ha...

Economics

29 h. ago A completely abandoned Toronto home is still somehow selling for $8 million

The average price of a house sold on the Bridle Path in Toronto is over $16 million.It's a neighbourhood of excess wealth, ostentatious mega-mansions and the 0.1 per cent of society. But in and amongst all those over-the-top houses, you'll find 48 The Bridle Path, a 103- by 260-foot piece of land with a vine covered bungalow that has sat abandoned since 2017, if not longer.  Construction happening across the street. Normally when plots of land become available in the Bridle Path, it's just a matter of time before a cavalcade of construction workers arrive to build the next mansion. However, that's not what happened at all at 48 The Bridle Path.In 2017, the property sold for $6,100,000 after just a week on the market. But less than a year later, it was back up for sale for $7,995,000. It took two years and four tries before it finally sold for $6,500,000 in 2019. Then 48 The Bridle Path just sat there for years.Ove...

Economics

41 h. ago Ontario sees another enormous jump in people not paying housing and other bills

As if we needed more facts and figures to remind us how bad Canada's economy is at present, a new report has offered a glimpse into just how many people nationwide have been unable to cover their major bills, with mortgage delinquency in particular at an all-time high.And, residents of Ontario are the worst culprits.The data, published by Equifax Canada this week, comes from the final months of 2024, a year in which consumer debt across the country grew by 4.6 per cent, to a total of an unthinkable $2.56 trillion.Though falling lending rates over the course of the year helped to relieve the debts of some, the credit company says that "financial pressures intensified" for many others, especially those with mortgages in our two most exorbitant provinces for property: Ontario and B.C.When looking at the fourth quarter of the year versus the same time in 2023, there was a shocking 90.2 per cent increase in the number of Ontarians who hadn't made a mortgage ...

Other

57 h. ago Toronto FC makes roster decisions, sets stage for future additions

Toronto FC completed some roster housekeeping Wednesday, rewarding teenage defender Lazar Stefanovic with a first-team contract as a homegrown player through 2028 with an option for 2029. But the bigger project remains with general manager Jason Hernandez looking to add another piece to the roster. After clearing up some past salary cap tangles, Hernandez has […]

Other

3 d. ago Toronto house listed for just $1 is primed for a bidding war

In this slow real estate market, some realtors are thinking outside the box to get their house to sell. Take 218 Bogert Ave., for example. This three-bedroom, three-bathroom home in West Lansing has been on and off the market four times since 2023 without selling. The living room. It was first listed for $1,599,000, but after a month on the market, owners took it down. They then performed a couple of upgrades in the house, like painting the kitchen cabinets, and re-listed it for $1,698,000.But, it still didn't sell.  A bedroom. Most recently, it was listed again for $1,888,000. But still, you guessed it: no bites. A bathroom. Now, the realtors have opted to list 218 Bogert Ave. for just $1, hoping maybe they'll get lucky and spark a bidding war that will get the owners closer to their desired selling price. A bedroom. It does seem a bit strange that the involved parties have ...

Economics

3 d. ago Here's how much you really need to earn per year to afford a home in Toronto right now

Even if houses in and around Toronto are no longer flying off the market like they used to — the case is quite the contrary, actually — the city's real estate continues to grow ever less affordable.Sales are in a protracted slump and new listings are surging, making hard to sense even a hint of the old urgency the region's market has hitherto been known for.But still, prices are proving surprisingly indifferent to what's actually happening on the ground, with simply the idea that there is perennial demand serving as enough to keep the city's property as eternally overvalued as ever.(To be fair, if you bought a slice of the GTA market for a whopping $1,334,544 two years ago — the average price for a home of any type at the time — how would you feel about having to let it go for much less?)A new report on housing affordability across Canada shows how things worsened for buyers in nearly every city in&n...

Other

4 d. ago Toronto cop on Ontario Sunshine List gets house arrest for attempted frauds

Const. Ronald Joseph 'was the lynchpin of a fraudulent scheme' that involved staging car accidents 'and motivated entirely by greed,' said the judge

Other

4 d. ago Toronto cop gets house arrest for faking accidents and vehicle thefts

Const. Ronald Joseph 'was the lynchpin of a fraudulent scheme' that involved staging car accidents 'and motivated entirely by greed,' said the judge

Events

4 d. ago The GTA neighbourhoods where you can still get a house for under $1 million

Toronto may still be one of the least affordable places in the world for real estate, but the city's market has softened quite remarkably in the last year or so.Even if the price declines have been most notable in the condo segment — which has plummeted from its investor-driven heyday — the sheer abundance of available listings at the moment has given buyers far more choice.Price points have been pretty stubbornly stagnant overall considering the lack of activity, but there has still been room for many would-be homeowners to haggle properties down, and a number of neighbourhoods in the region where the average cost of even a house, not a condo, is now falling below the crucial $1 million mark.Homes are still selling for far under asking price in the vast majority of the Toronto areahttps://t.co/vLNpN8eLpz— blogTO (@blogTO) January 10, 2025Wahi, which hosts listings along with offering regula...

Economics

7 d. ago Toronto seeing most new home listings in Canada but hardly anyone is buying

Predictions that Toronto's housing market would see a triumphant return of the enthusiasm and heat it's historically known for have fallen flat thus far, with sales continuing to dwindle far below hopes and expectations, and new listings continuing to pour onto the market.Nearly 20,000 homes are now up for sale within the GTA, per the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB)'s numbers for January, marking a worrying 48.6 per cent uptick in new listings and 70.2 per cent increase in active listings compared to this time last year.The number of sales transactions, meanwhile, has fallen 7.9 per cent over the same time frame, disheartening realtors and sellers who were expecting a bounceback after an abysmal 2024.RBC economists really put these numbers into perspective in a new special housing report that this month compared how the real estate scenes in major cities across Canada are faring.One graph shows Toronto to have the third-biggest year-over...

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7 d. ago Toronto charity shares experiences and challenges protecting vulnerable youth online

Editor's Note: The following story contains details about human trafficking that may upset some readers.February 22 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day in Canada, and aims to raise awareness about its magnitude and prevalence while taking steps to combat and prevent the crime itself. "Sex trafficking is the most common form of human trafficking and is one of Canada's most lucrative and misunderstood crimes," Suzie Tarlattini, Supervisor of the Awareness and Prevention Program at Covenant House Toronto, tells blogTO."Most people don't realize that it can happen to someone they know, and when we believe this, we're distancing ourselves from the issue and from very real risk factors our children might be facing."Educating the GTAAlongside dual efforts to both prevent and support youth experiencing homelessness, Covenant House provides education about sex trafficking and online safety to students across the GTA so that they may understand the issue, how it happens, what wa...

Technology

9 d. ago A classic Toronto house was completely and awesomely reimagined in the '80s

When you see a century-old Rosedale heritage home, you can pretty much guess what you're gonna get. They usually have traditional interiors with hardwood floors, wood-panelled dining rooms, detailed crown moulding, fireplaces galore and maybe a stained glass window or two. And while 23 South Dr. might look like your typical Rosedale home from the outside, it is anything but typical on the inside. The foyer. Completely reimagined in 1987, this house is a stunning combination of heritage home and '80s architecture that gives it tons of unique character and whimsy. The living room. As you enter the home, you have the more traditional part of the house, with a classic living room complete with a fireplace. A bedroom. But as you move through the house, those 1980s elements start to crop up. The dining room. In the dining room and a bedroom, for example, there are glass brick walls quintessential to the era.The atr...

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9 d. ago 2025 Ontario Election – How Each Provincial Party’s Housing Platform Stacks Up

OREA surveyed and reviewed each provincial party on their commitment to fix the housing affordability crisis TORONTO, Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — To keep Ontarians informed on which candidates say they will support pro-growth, pro-ownership, and pro-affordability housing solutions in the upcoming 2025 Ontario election, the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) surveyed all major […]

Politics