Million-dollar Ontario home sells in 15 minutes on Kijiji

It’s well-documented that the average sale price for detached homes in Toronto was $1.56 million in March, a staggering 33 per cent increase from a year earlier. It’s less talked about that the Greater Toronto Area’s 905 region was up 34 per cent, with detached homes selling for an average of $1.12-million.

Joe from Milton, Ont., found out just how hot the market really was when he listed his house for $929,000 on free local classifieds site Kijiji without an agent, reports NEWSTALK 1010.

“The time I listed it on Kijiji to the time I sold it was about 15 minutes,” Joe tells the radio station.

Milton-based Joe thought he’d leave the listing up on Kijiji for a few months to see what kind of offers he’d get and how he could leverage them for more money. Instead, he got a desperate sounding note from a man almost immediately who wanted to see the house the same evening.

Joe tried to put him off until the next day but the potential buyer insisted. He arrived at Joe’s door within 15 minutes, did a quick tour with his wife, and offered to buy the house on the spot.

After Joe declined the offer and said he wanted to show the house to a few more buyers, the man offered $10,000 more, then $20,000 and $40,000. Eventually, they agreed to $980,000 with $50,000 down and no conditions.

The buyer and seller drew up a contract together, had their lawyers look it over, and within a day, Joe was holding a certified check. Now he’s looking to Niagara to live mortgage free, says the report.

As for how much Joe paid for that house, he bought it for $575,000 four years ago. He never imagined it would sell so quickly on a free advertisement site.

“I’ve had a lawn mower on there for two months for 200 bucks that I haven’t been able to sell,” he has said.