Some homes in Toronto are being listed for $1. Here's why

Some properties in the Greater Toronto Area are being listed for $1 — a meagre price tag compared to the latest data on the average selling price, which was $1.1 million in April, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board . Most recently, two adjacent homes in the East Danforth area were listed for a loonie, as was a lot in the Englemount-Lawrence neighbourhood that gives buyers the opportunity to build a detached house, with approved permits, drawings and development charges, according to the listing. A vacant lot in Cabbagetown also comes with a $1 price tag. It has approved zoning for four storeys and is “a rare and exciting opportunity for investors and developers,” the listing says. Properties being listed for $1 isn’t a new strategy, explains Brendan Powell, broker of record at the BREL team at BSpoke Realty Inc. “It tends to come up when sellers and agents have run out of more conventional ways to attract attention to their listing,” he told National Post over email on Tuesday. “Another time when you are likely to see this strategy is when the objective value is very hard to determine,” he said, pointing out that the listings in the East Danforth, Englemount-Lawrence and Cabbagetown areas fall into that category. “One is a vacant lot downtown, so the value is entirely in the eyes (and wallet) of the beholder — generally depending on what they plan to do with the space,” he said, referring to Cabbagetown. Per the listing, the lot is located in the heart of Toronto’s bustling downtown and is “just steps away from leading universities, colleges, and hospitals.” It is “ideally situated to meet the growing demand for student housing, micro-suites, or high-demand downtown living rentals.” As for the East Danforth area listing, Powell said the combined address of two connected sides of a semi being together is “quite unusual.” “The value for that could be quite different from the simple combination of each property value on its own,” he said. The listing reads: “Imagine the possibilities: live in one and generate income by renting the other, or create a multi-generational family residence.” The Englemount-Lawrence lot comes with plans for a house, so “you are buying the lot, as well as all the plans, permits… the value of which is very personal.” In these cases, each of the properties is hard to price, he said. “The $1 price tag is kind of like saying ‘or best offer’ without having to commit to an arbitrary bracket. I still feel that more often than not, $1 listings are about attracting attention to unusual properties — heritage homes, unique properties,” said Powell. Founder and broker of record at Bosley – Toronto Realty Group Inc. David Fleming, who has written about $1 homes on Toronto Realty Blog , told National Post over email that he thinks it’s a tactic “that never works.” “It’s borne of desperation, and that desperation typically comes as a result of sellers who won’t accept fair market value, and/or listing agents who don’t have the stomach to show their sellers the reality of the market,” he said. After some houses hit the market for $1 in March, Fleming wrote in a blog post: “This isn’t outside-the-box thinking at all. It’s pure lunacy, is what is.” He compiled data from 2015 to 2024 and included listings in Toronto, Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. He narrowed down the listings to actual homes, excluding vacant lots or power of sales. He found that the success rate of selling a $1 home was close to 1 per cent. Although it’s possible, he said it was rare. One example of a property elsewhere in Canada being listed for $1 is the former home of Canadian businessman Jim Pattison in West Vancouver. In 2022, the District of West Vancouver purchased the house for under $5.2 million and stipulated that whoever buys the home next will have to transport it to another location to make way for a public walkway and park along the waterfront, Vancouver Sun reported . It was sold for $1.75 in July 2023, per North Shore News . “This is an extremely wonderful outcome because the applicant plans to move the home by barge, and temporarily store it until a new location in Vancouver is prepared. There’ll be no cost of this move to the district,” said West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager at the time. Europe is also no stranger to listing properties for pocket change. Twenty-five municipalities in Italy are offering up vacant homes for the symbolic price tag of one euro. The younger generations who are no longer interested in living in smaller villages have left behind an aging population with no heirs to their property, The Independent reported . Local authorities have taken over and devised a plan — listing the homes for a mere euro — to attract new homeowners to help the communities thrive. But, there are strings attached. The buyers must guarantee that they’ll plan a restructuring and revaluation project (usually within a year of purchase), support notarial fees for registration, start work within the time decided by the municipality, and take out a surety policy between 1,000 to 5,000 euros that expires when the work is completed, according to 1eurohouses.com .

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