Close Quarters

I'm sitting here and I hear thudding in the street. Maybe more like pounding. It's like someone down the street has a giant hammer and is pounding the sidewalk with it. I went outside to look, but I don't see anything happening. Maybe it's the street behind us. Or maybe someone is renovating inside a house and the pounding is coming through all the walls.

It's amazing, isn't it, that we live in such close quarters in the city, we can't fart without someone three houses away saying, What was that?

But here's the interesting thing. These tiny clustered brick houses we live in? They are worth a bundle. We bought our house in 1988 for the hefty price of $198,000. That was apparently a good price. The average cost of a house in Toronto at the time was $250,000. Our street has always been undervalued for some reason.

This summer, several houses on our street sold. They all fetched over $350,000. One bungalow listed for $356,000 and sold for $458,000. Wow. Last week, a house almost identical to ours in structure sold for $370,000. The agents were so pleased, they came around to tell everyone on the street. We invited them in to our house to look around. They ooh'ed and aah'ed over our house. They said our house is in even better condition than the one they just sold. We agree. So we could probably fetch at least $370,000 for our house too.

Then the agents told us the reason our street is undervalued is because no one sells on this street. When there is no turnover, prices remain low. Apparently, the hidden knowledge among real estate agents is, our street is an undervalued gem. It is the nicest street in this pocket of the neighbourhood. It is tree-lined and quiet (hah, if they only knew). Most people who buy onto this street stay put. This is true. Very few people have moved out since we arrived. Well, without the turnover, houses on this street don't have the chance to increase in value. I take this to mean the same ethnic families have lived in these houses so the street doesn't get gentrified. Gentrification sells.

The last four houses that sold certainly were prepped to be showcase homes. And did they ever show. That's how they got these incredible prices. Really, these are tiny three-bedroom houses. Like the giant homes north of us, they too get more money if they show well. One agent said to me recently, do your house up so prospective buyers can imagine themselves having sex in it. Is there nothing that sex can't sell? I have to start paying attention to what makes a house sexy so we'll be ready if we ever sell.