Welcome to the second installment of The Best Of Urbaneer where I share some of Urbaneer.com’s most popular posts from the last several years. Last time, I took a look back at some of my most popular posts on Style and Design. For this compilation, I’m going to offer a series of Featured Homes. Most of these come from the Urbaneer team’s popular ‘Home Of The Month’ blog, but there are a few that showcase some stunning and fascinating homes in the City of Toronto, with unique story lines to accompany the homes. Either way, these are the homes that earned the most clicks at the time they were published!
For a bit of background, in our regular ‘Home of the Month‘ posts, we provide the details around recent purchases from our Urbaneer clientele. This engaging series accomplishes a number of things: it acts as a market gauge for house hunters and sellers alike; it also reminds us of how every home has a story, as does every house hunter. Once in a while, a home is so unique or captivating, that we showcase it as a feature unto itself, like with 46 Herbert in The Beaches from the list below.
Properties tell the narrative of the owners, the evolution of neighbourhoods and current trends and taste. These posts remind us of the story-telling power of homes and also of the connections that all house hunters share. No matter where house hunters are coming from, or what their position on the property ladder is, they are trying to find the “Prince Charming of bricks and mortar” while balancing search priorities and budgets.
Here are some of the most popular featured homes:
March 2013 Home Of The Month – Minto Skyy At Broadview Danforth
This post reflects on the search for a turnkey condo from our Zoomer clients, whose tailored wish list reflects much of the criteria for this down-sizing demographic group. These Zoomers wished to relocate from outside of the city of Toronto to very specific urban locations, in order to be close to their adult children and grandchildren; they also wanted a lovely low-maintenance home, which might even offer rental potential. During this housing search, I discuss the value of the unique in the condominium market in Toronto.
While not a Home of the Month, this striking home is noteworthy for many reasons. You may remember this stunning home and the press attention that it received globally when Urbaneer sold it last year. What is fascinating about 46 Herbert is not just that it is visually arresting and not just that it is representative of a movement currently in Toronto real estate, which sees existing homes in urban neighbourhoods either levelled or substantially renovated to evolve into more contemporary housing. What is very cool about this home is how cutting-edge its design and construction is from a sustainability point of view, proving you can marry sustainability with style. Navigate to ‘Acclaim for Baukultur/ca And 46 Herbert Avenue‘, ‘A Unique Architectural Masterpiece In The Beach’ and ‘The Latest Press On 46 Herbert Avenue’ for more press, photos and backstory on this wonderful home.
May 2017 – Home of the Month – Ramsden Park Near Yorkville
This purchase last spring tells the tale of a downsizing Zoomer, whose goal was to cash out the considerable equity in her larger 4-bedroom home and scale down to a more suitable home for her current lifestyle. When you are changing property type and lifestyle at the same time, neighbourhood and amenities become increasingly more important, as does having the freedom of a turn-key property. This post draws to light another important point. The Zoomer cohort, with their experience up and down the property ladder, is very specific in their wish lists; they know what they require to support the lifestyle that they desire. In addition to that, they have to address some of the challenges inherent with downsizing households, from spatial awareness to the pragmatism of daily life.
November 2014 Home Of The Month – Bloorline Lofts At Bloor Lansdowne
This post tells the story of a house hunter who was a planner, having spent considerable time socking away savings in order to purchase a home that matched the picture in her mind’s eye: a vintage loft with character not typically seen these days with new builds. However, given the constraint in supply of unique urban spaces in Toronto within a certain price point, it can be a challenge to discover a property like our Buyer coveted. She was in the end, able to purchase a sublime loft which featured original architecture married with industrial finishes in a great location.
Toronto’s Best Houses & Condos Of 2016 By Urbaneer
And in the “best” of the “best of”, we have a compilation of all of urbaneer’s “Homes of the Month” for 2016. When you see these many purchases, side by side, you really get a true snapshot of Buyer experience in the city of Toronto- in terms of property type, wish list, Buyer motivation, dynamics of the search and purchase price across a broad range of Buyer demographic and budget. The best part? All happy endings!
May 2012 Home of The Month – Danforth & Woodbine
And rounding out our top six in Home of the Month and featured homes, is this story of a couple with a young child, relocating to Toronto from Vancouver. Given that they had sold their Vancouver home and were relocating, we were presented with the pressure of a short timeline, along with distance. This housing search was a real group effort, with the Buyers viewing properties online, with family members and urbaneer on the ground in Toronto to vet the properties. A search like this, especially with a tight timeline and a competitive market, underscores the value of working with a realtor who not only has solid market knowledge, but has an excellent awareness of multiple neighbourhoods and how amenities, properties and location would make a match for Buyer’s wish lists.
Did any of these homes speak to you?
These diverse Toronto properties provide a snapshot of the kind of Homes urbaneer sells. Serving first and second time buyers, relocations, renovators and those building their long term property portfolios, our mandate is to help our clients choose property which will realize the highest future return on their investment while ensuring the property best serves their practical needs and their dream of “Home” during their ownership. At urbaneer, we identify a property’s best qualities, features and insouciant charm in the context of your wishes and wants, plus your future target market. Although searching for the right property can be an intense and sometimes lengthy process it is, without fail, rewarding both to our clients and the urbaneer team. We are so grateful to be the realtor of choice for both Torontonians, and the newly arrived.
Are you house hunting? Consider letting Urbaneer guide you through your purchase process. Given the length and intensity of many property searches today, it is only to your benefit to have someone with the experience, knowledge and empathy to help you on your journey. We’re here to help!
Steven Fudge, Sales Representative
& The Innovative Urbaneer Team
Bosley Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage – (416) 322-8000
– we’re here to earn your trust, then your business –
Celebrating Twenty-Five Years As A Top-Producing Toronto Realtor
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*Love Canadian Housing? Check out Steve’s Student Mentorship site called Houseporn.ca which focuses on architecture, landscape, design, product and real estate in Canada!
