Yesterday on October 26th 2017 my clients property at 70 Temperance St. Unit 4114 (Indx Condo’s) went firm.  We were able to set a record price in the building, selling at $1,000 per sq/ft.. Here’s how we were able to achieve such a result..

When it comes to listing property there are a few key factors to consider such as..

  • Whats the demand like?
  • Is there inventory in the building, or in the nearby neighbourhood which will be competition
  • What are the recent direct comparables

Prior to listing unit 4114 I noticed that unit 3314 was on the market for almost 2 months prior to selling for $481,200.  My client had intentions to sell while this property was on the market, although I made sure he held off until unit 3314 sold firm and to release the price to the public, prior to listing.  Another reason why we waited is because this was an investment property, my client was inclined to list the property with the tenant occupying the unit.  The tenant was set to move out on September 1 and I was sure to get my client to wait until the property was vacant.

This brings me to a key point…. (DO NOT LIST PROPERTY WITH A TENANT OCCUPYING…   If you can…

When the tenant vacated the property on Sept 1 2017, the unit definitely was not left in upstanding condition.  Immediately I had my painters go in to touch the unit up.  After the painters went in I had the unit professionally cleaned top to bottom.  Most of the time staging is recommended… In this instance, we were dealing with a 492 sq/ft unit which had tons of light pouring in from the 41st floor west unobstructed view..  We left the unit vacant to make this space feel larger to potential buyers.

We gauged the market for not having any direct comps on the market so we listed at $515,000 although the recent comp put our value closer to the $487,000 – $490,000 mark.

Then a fork in the road came…

Unit 4614 came on the market which was 5 floors higher but did not have a locker… So our values were identical.  They listed the property at $499,988 to undercut us and drive buyers to them.  My client and I observed this the day of and quickly changed our list price to the $499,988 to create a level playing field…

We then had a buyer come along and try to pin the two units against eachother by using one to leverage the other… The buying agent called me to explain she wanted a “deal” becuase there are two units and she is inclined to go with whoever gave her the best price.  This is a game we did not partake in, we let them offer on unit 4614, so they did… Unit 4614 sold for $490,000 and we remained on market.

Then a low ball came in on our unit.. I would disclose the exact price although RECO rules dictate that I cannot… So we signed the offer back at a number we needed to sell, this dragged negotiations out with this potential buyer over a course of 2 days.  This is critical in us achieving a record sale price as we had another buyer interested who knew we had an offer on the table.  The new buyer understood the market value and that we had an immaculate unit in a brand new, quality building.. And with 492 square feet our locker was the sticking point.

He quickly acknowledged the future potential in this property and offered us a strong $492,000 which came to $1,000 per sq/ft… The first time this has ever been achieved in the Indx Condo’s to date.  We were able to get a 3 week close which was ideal due to the fact that the unit is vacant.  We close on November 16th and my client couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

It’s easy to get shaken up with so much money on the line, but through proper preparations, online marketing, strong negotiations and patience a record price is always attainable