There’s an interesting story unfolding in Blake-Jones, and you need to look beyond the headlines to see it. On the surface, the East Toronto market can seem to move as one: properties come to market, Buyers assess them, Offers are made (or not), and eventually a sale price emerges. But when you drill down into the numbers for MLS E01, a different picture emerges. Blake-Jones is behaving like a two-speed market, with long-term owners selling into one segment while substantially renovated and redeveloped properties are achieving a very different level of value.
The difference is significant. Between 2020 and 2026, 38 detached single-family homes in Blake-Jones sold for more than $1.7 million on MLS. Twenty-eight were sold by long-term owners, while ten appeared to have been renovated or redeveloped for profit. The long-term-owner properties averaged $1,958,116, while the profit-motivated properties averaged $2,236,180. That is an average difference of $278,064 — or 12.5% more.
That 12.5% premium is the story.
The Community Keepers & The Modernizers
There are two important facts to remember as we move forward with this discussion. First, Toronto’s aging housing stock is approaching obsolescence, so tearing down an existing residence to build new will continue to happen. That’s simply a part of the life cycle of neighbourhoods and cities. Second, the current real estate climate in the Blake-Jones neighbourhood that we discuss here is not unique; it’s happening in enclaves across Toronto.
I think of the long-term owners as the neighbourhood’s community keepers. These are the people who have lived in Blake-Jones for decades, raised families there, maintained their houses over time and upgraded them as circumstances required. They may have replaced the roof, renovated the kitchen, updated a bathroom, added insulation, replaced windows or improved the mechanical systems. But those improvements have usually happened incrementally, over many years, rather than as part of one comprehensive renovation designed to appeal to today’s Buyer.
That distinction matters because a Buyer walking into a home maintained and improved over 25 or 30 years sees something very different from a Buyer walking into a property that has just undergone a major transformation. The long-term-owner house may be perfectly sound and perfectly liveable, but its finishes, layout and functionality can reflect the priorities of another era. The recently renovated house, by contrast, has been designed to feel fresh, contemporary and move-in ready. The kitchen, bathrooms, lighting, flooring, layout and finishes all speak the same visual language, and the Buyer doesn’t have to imagine what the home could become. They can simply picture themselves living there.
The data suggests that Buyers in Blake-Jones are prepared to pay a meaningful premium for that experience.
Lastly, there’s some irony in these two groups finding themselves in opposition; the buyers of the new homes will likely become Community Keepers. These new houses are effectively Forever Homes – and given how expensive buying and selling costs are (that hefty land transfer tax) – these people may plan to stay put!
The Numbers Reveal A Pattern
When you look at the annual sales, the pattern becomes particularly compelling. In 2020, three detached houses sold for more than $1.7 million, averaging $2.24 million. Two of those properties had been substantially renovated and sold for $2.61 million and $2.32 million, respectively, while the long-term family-owned property sold for $1.73 million.
In 2021, seven properties crossed the $1.7-million threshold. Among them were several properties acquired and substantially renovated before being resold. Standout examples included 21 Shudell Avenue, which sold for $2.55 million after being purchased for $1.138 million the previous year, and 53 Condor Avenue, which was purchased for $1.125 million, torn down, and replaced with a newly constructed dwelling that sold for $2.65 million.
The same pattern appeared again in 2023. Five detached homes sold for more than $1.7 million. Three were likely profit-motivated, including 13 Shudell Avenue, which had sold for $1.355 million in 2021 before being substantially renovated and resold for $2.445 million; 27 Hunter Street, which sold for $2.4 million following a substantial renovation; and 4 Condor Avenue, which sold for $2.475 million after being renovated. The three profit-motivated properties sold for between $470,000 and $545,000 more than the homes sold by long-term owners that year.
Interestingly, this is not a story where every renovated property automatically wins; like all trends, there are exceptions and outliers. In 2024, nine homes exceeded $1.7 million, but only one was identified as having been built for profit. In 2025, only one of the seven qualifying sales was redeveloped for profit: 139 Hazelwood Avenue, purchased in 2024 for $1.25 million, substantially renovated, and sold for $2.4 million. Yet that one property sold for $450,000 more than the second-highest sale that year. In 2026 so far, 103 Harcourt Avenue appears to have been renovated to profit from the resale, but it actually sold for $1.75 million after being purchased as a fixer-upper for $1.62 million and rebuilt with permits.
So the lesson isn’t that renovation guarantees a profit. It doesn’t. The lesson is that when the right property is substantially transformed into a fresh, on-trend product, the market can reward it handsomely.
Why Is This Happening In Blake-Jones?
Part of the answer lies in the neighbourhood itself. Blake-Jones is primarily composed of Edwardian housing stock, much of it more than a century old. These houses were built for a working-class Toronto that bears little resemblance to today’s city. As this housing stock ages and the neighbourhood continues to experience the forces of gentrification and intensification, more and more properties are being substantially renovated, rebuilt or redeveloped for the executive market.
That changes the neighbourhood’s economics.
Executive residences get premium prices because they’re new. When comparing a newly constructed house to a 100-year-old home that has been fully renovated and well-maintained, a new construction home typically commands a 10% to 20% premium in market value over the renovated older home, assuming they are equal in size, lot value, and neighbourhood. Even with high-end, structural renovations, real estate appraisals rarely match new construction dollar-for-dollar. This valuation gap is driven by specific structural, economic, and psychological factors
1. Functional Obsolescence
Even if a century-old home is stripped to the studs and modernized, appraisers apply a discount because of structural layouts. A 100-year-old home was built for a different era. Unless massive structural changes were made—such as moving load-bearing walls—the home may still have smaller bedrooms, lower basement ceilings, or a layout that feels less cohesive than a modern, open-concept floor plan.
2. The “Authentically New” Buyer Premium
Buyers are willing to pay a premium for the peace of mind that comes with a home where every single component has a zero-day history. In a renovated home, even if the drywall, plumbing, and electricity are completely updated, the underlying foundation and original framing wood are still 100 years old. Buyers internalize the risk that older hidden elements are closer to the end of their absolute structural lifespans.
3. Maintenance Predictability and Warranties
New builds come with comprehensive structural and system guarantees (often up to 10 years) legally backing the buyer against defects. A renovated home, no matter how pristine, carries an element of historical mystery, and any post-sale issues are entirely the new owner’s financial responsibility.
The older the property, the more its value approaches land value, where the existing structure may still have utility but contributes less to its exchange value. The newer and more comprehensively renovated the dwelling, the more the cost of construction, replacement and contemporary design is reflected in the sale price. In other words, Buyers are increasingly comparing not just houses, but houses that represent very different levels of capital investment.
This helps explain why a beautifully renovated home can command a premium over a well-maintained house owned by a family for decades, even when both properties occupy similar lots in the same neighbourhood.
What Does This Mean For A Seller?
This is where the numbers become especially useful.
A Seller looking at the $2-million-plus sales in Blake-Jones might reasonably conclude that their property should also be capable of achieving that kind of price. But the data suggests that it isn’t quite that simple. Of the 12 dwellings that sold for more than $2.25 million in the period examined, seven were sold by renovators for profit. That’s 58%.
In other words, the highest prices are disproportionately associated with properties that have been substantially renovated, rebuilt or otherwise positioned as fresh contemporary housing.
This doesn’t mean that every homeowner should embark on a major renovation before selling. Renovation economics are complicated. Construction costs, carrying costs, design choices, financing and market conditions can easily erode the anticipated gain. And there is no guarantee that a Seller will recover every dollar invested.
The more important question is whether a property is competing in the same category as the homes Buyers are rewarding with these premiums. A house upgraded incrementally over 25 years may still be a wonderful home, but it is not necessarily competing on equal footing with a property that has just undergone a complete transformation.
That distinction should influence both the renovation decision and the pricing strategy.
The Real Takeaway
The most revealing statistic from the Blake-Jones data isn’t necessarily the average sale price. It is the gap between the two groups of Sellers.
Across 38 detached sales above $1.7 million, the long-term owners averaged $1.958 million. The ten properties identified as having been renovated or redeveloped with a profit motive averaged $2.236 million. The difference was $278,064, representing a 12.5% premium.
That tells us something important about how the neighbourhood is evolving. Blake-Jones is not one homogeneous market. It is becoming a two-speed market in which established housing stock and newly modernized housing stock are valued differently.
The long-term owners are the community keepers. They are selling homes that have accumulated decades of history and incremental improvements. The modernizers are selling a different product: freshly renovated, highly contemporary properties designed to meet the expectations of today’s Buyer.
For Buyers, that creates opportunity. A property that needs work may offer a lower entry price and the ability to create value through renovation. For Sellers, it raises a tougher question: should you sell the house as-is, or invest in transforming it before exposing it to the market?
There is no universal answer. But the data gives us a useful starting point. In Blake-Jones, the market is demonstrating that Buyers will pay a premium for homes that feel fresh, contemporary and finished. The challenge for every homeowner is determining whether their property can justify that investment — and whether the potential premium is greater than the cost and risk of achieving it.
Because ultimately, the real estate market is never just one market. It is a collection of micro-markets, property types, conditions and Buyer preferences, all moving at slightly different speeds.
Right now, in Blake-Jones, those speeds are becoming increasingly visible. And the 12.5% premium is a number worth paying attention to.
On the Urbaneer blog, I write extensively about how a neighbourhood operates like a living organism, continually moving through a predictable four-stage life cycle: Growth, Stability, Decline, and Renewal. Here is a selection of those:
How Toronto Real Estate Is Shifting From ‘Fixer-Upper’ Flips To ‘Tear Down’ New Construction
Trending In Toronto: Single Family Houses Replaced By Boutique Condo Townhomes
What’s Trending In Toronto Real Estate?
Dear Urbaneer: For Toronto Property Investors, What Are The Pitfalls Of Buying Older Dwellings?
Gentrification, Densification, And The History Of Toronto Real Estate
Dear Urbaneer – Why Are So Many Downtown Houses Being Renovated?
The Six Essential Layers Of Property
Dear Urbaneer: What Are The Buyer Profiles For Multiplex Properties?
On Garden Suites In Toronto, By The Architect Builders Collaborative, Sustainable, & Urbaneer
The Need And Demand For Live/Work Properties In Toronto
And check out some of our Toronto neighbourhood spotlights!
A Brief History On The Old & The Emerging New Dupont
A Brief History Of Toronto’s Little India Neighbourhood
A Short History Of Toronto’s Fashion District And Art Deco Architecture
Excavating The History Of Toronto’s Avenue Road
A Mini History On St. James Town
Why More Condominiums On The Danforth Is Good
The Imminent Transformation Of Moss Park & The Garden District – Upcoming Developments
7300 New Units In 20 Buildings Planned & Under Construction Near Dovercourt Village
Mid & High-Density Developments Around The Bayview-Leaside BIA
Dear Urbaneer: Are More High-Rise Towers Coming To My West Bend High Park Neighbourhood?
From Brownfield To Playing Field: A Brief History Of Toronto’s Davenport Village
A Brief History On The Intensification Of The Danforth In Toronto
Garden City: The History And Revitalization Of Toronto’s Regent Park Neighbourhood
Gentrification, Densification, And The History Of Toronto Real Estate
Since 1989, I’ve steered my career through a real estate market crash and burn; survived a slow painful cross-country recession; completed an M.E.S. graduate degree from York University called ‘Planning Housing Environments’; executed the concept, sales & marketing of multiple new condo and vintage loft conversions; and guided hundreds of clients through the purchase and sale of hundreds of freehold and condominium dwellings across the original City of Toronto. From a gritty port industrial city into a glittering post-industrial global centre, I’ve navigated the ebbs and flows of a property market as a consistent Top Producer. And I remain as passionate about it today as when I started.
Please consider contacting me at 416-845-9905 or emailing me at Steve@urbaneer.com. It would be my pleasure to assist you.
We’d love to introduce you to our services.
Serving first-time Buyers, upsizers, downsizers, and people building their long-term property portfolios, our mandate is to help clients choose the property that will deliver the highest future return on their investment while ensuring it best serves their practical needs and their dream of “Home” during their ownership.
Are you considering selling? We welcome providing you with a comprehensive assessment free of charge, including determining your Buyer profile, optimizing your return on investment, and tailoring the listing process to your circumstances. Check out How Urbaneer’s Custom Marketing Program Sold This Family-Friendly Home In Riverdale to learn more about what we do!
Consider letting Urbaneer guide you through your Buying or Selling process, without pressure or hassle.
We are here to help!
-The Urbaneer Team
Steven Fudge, Sales Representative
& The Innovative Urbaneer Team
Bosley Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage – (416) 322-800
– we’re here to earn your trust, then your business –
Celebrating Thirty-Five Years As A Top-Producing Toronto Realtor
*Did you know we were recently listed as one of The Top 60 Best Toronto Blogs & Websites? And we earned the #5 spot on Feedspot’s Top 30 Toronto Real Estate Blogs & Websites’ List!
Consider signing up in the box below to receive our FREE monthly e-newsletter on housing, culture, and design, including our love for unique urban homes and other Toronto real estate!
*Love Canadian Housing? Check out Steve’s University Student Mentorship site called Canadian Real Estate, Housing & Home, which focuses on architecture, landscape, design, products, and real estate in Canada!