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Now the new owners are trying to sell. So far, however, it is not working out, and not for lack of realtor enthusiasm.
Promotional material on the house exuberantly calls it a “Symphonic Blend Of The Rational & Emotional.”
The grand musical performance space and areas for family living make the house perfect for “Sophisticated Citizens Of The World” looking for a house to feed their souls and make their imaginations soar, the promo reads. “Perfectionists & Professional Globalists Will Thrill To The Contemporary Design.”
But the attempted selling of Integral House is straining some of the rules of real estate.
The listing agent, Janet Lindsay, was not available Tuesday for an interview, but a colleague confirmed the property is still listed for sale.
In general, the bigger and more expensive a house is, the longer it takes to sell, and six months is substantially longer than the average time it takes a Toronto house to sell, according to Paul Anglin, professor of real estate at the University of Guelph who has studied “time-on-market.”
I naively went about interviewing architects, and look what happened
James Stewart
But at the $20-million-plus end of the market, things are different. When Stewart’s executors offered it for sale after his death, their agent speculated it might take two years to sell, but sold in slightly less time.
Price matters at those lofty heights, but “it’s more about the enticement,” Anglin said. A real estate agent can no longer rely on a pleasant looking house in a nice neighbourhood with good bones. For the ultra-rich, the agent must tell a good story.
