An Oakville home once valued at more than $1 million is going back on the market for far less this, with the owners setting the asking price at a loonie.
While it isn't the first time a house has been listed for $1, the extreme gimmick returned to the Toronto area's real estate scene this week in the form of a brand new home in Oakville.
The custom-built two-storey home on Riverview Street, near Strathcona Avenue, features granite counter tops, hardwood floors, expansive bathrooms and a massive back yard.
According to the Toronto Star, the house was previously listed at $1.088 million in August, before the owners decided to drop the price.
Some in the real estate business have described the tactic of listing a home for $1 as a transparent marketing gimmick aimed at creating buzz around a house that has been slow to move.
But others defend the action as a viable way to open up bidding and allow the circumstances to set the proper price.
"When someone lists (a home) for a dollar, what they are really saying is that they are going to let the market decide what the true current market value is," ReMax Ultimate realtor Asim Khan told CTVNews.ca on Friday.
"When you overprice something you don't get any offers. When you list it for $1 and then go back to the regular price it will sell."
In 2008, Khan listed a Riverdale townhouse for $1 while other homes in the neighbourhood were selling for about $340,000.
Around the same time the cost of gas had just crossed the $1 per litre mark; media jumped on the story and Khan received hundreds of queries from across the country.
The buzz didn't end in many official offers, however. But the house was later relisted at market value and sold within a week.
"A lot of people didn't understand the process; they were making verbal offers when they needed to be in writing," Khan said.
