Peter and Jennifer McGillivray said market conditions at the start of 2025 made buying more appealing.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
In 2004, Peter McGillivray, an opera singer, met Jennifer, a production manager, when they were both working for the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. They got married in 2008, then in 2012 Ms. McGillivray’s work brought them north to Parry Sound, Ont., then to Sudbury in 2015, where they settled in a four-bedroom house purchased for $236,000.
Over the next eight years, both partners developed their careers – Mrs. McGillivray’s into a fundraising role and Mr. McGillivray processing employment insurance claims for Service Canada (he’s still hired to perform in about two or three operas and concerts a year). In 2023, another job offer, this time at Mrs. McGillivray’s alma mater of York University, brought the couple back to Toronto.
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They sold their Sudbury house for $480,000 and initially decided to rent in Toronto. “Interest rates were crazy high,” Mrs. McGillivray recalls. They chose a two-bedroom, two-storey apartment in Toronto’s Avenue Road and Lawrence Avenue neighbourhood, paying $4,200 a month.
Then, at the beginning of 2025, market conditions shifted to make buying more appealing. “We caught a little bit of lightning with the Trump uncertainties and a mini dip in pricing,” Mr. McGillivray said. “People were feeling more desperate to sell than they might have otherwise been, and there was a huge drop in interest rates, which made things suddenly a lot more attractive.”
The kitchen at one of the properties they viewed.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
With a budget of $1,000,000, Mr. and Mrs. McGillivray were hoping to find at least two bedrooms and two bathrooms with space to host dinner parties and overnight guests. They were willing to purchase a semi, but hoped for a detached house, since Mr. McGillivray often rehearses from home.
The most important thing for the couple, however, was a transit-friendly location with easy access to entertainment, like concert venues, the opera (they’re season ticket holders), the ballet and Blue Jays games at the Rogers Centre, while still having manageable commutes to work (Peter had since transferred to a Service Canada location in North York). They focused on neighbourhoods just south of Toronto’s Cedarvale Park, where many of the couple’s friends live.
By the spring of 2025, Mrs. and Mr. McGillivray reached out to real estate agent Michael Wacholtz to help guide their hunt. “We were looking for a bit of a unicorn,” Mr. Wacholtz said of their search. “If people are willing to be a little bit flexible, you can find them. It’s like needles in a haystack.”
Here were their options:
Narrow semi-detached near Davenport and Bathurst
The Davenport Road property was a semi with three bedrooms.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
The couple loved that this semi, priced at $1,099,900 was in a great location on Davenport Road, a 10-minute walk to the Dupont subway station. It had three bedrooms, a decent backyard and a fireplace, which Mrs. McGillivray liked. The home’s kitchen had recently been renovated with walnut cabinetry, a Caesarstone countertop and a marble backsplash.
However, the front steps of the property were falling apart and would need to be rebuilt, which would be costly. The home also had a narrow layout and they worried about having enough space in it for their upright piano.
Dated detached house near St. Clair and Eglinton
The detached home had only two bedrooms and two bathrooms.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
This detached house only had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, but the rooms were spacious and there was a bonus kitchen in a large basement. “I could see myself being an old man in this house,” Mr. McGillivray joked.
The property was outdated with old tiling and parquet flooring throughout, which would need extensive renovations to update. The property was competitively priced at $899,000, giving them $100,000 left in their budget for renovations, but they worried that the work required would cost double that amount.
Pricey detached house near Oakwood and St. Clair
This detached property came with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Mrs. and Mr. McGillivray liked that this detached home was recently renovated with an open concept main floor and a spacious kitchen. There were three bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus a detached garage on a separate laneway and a backyard porch for barbecuing.
It was on a quiet street that was about a 45-minute transit commute to their workplaces and a similar distance to reach the Rogers Centre downtown. However, the property, listed at $1,100,000, was well over the couple’s budget.
Their home: Pricey detached house near Oakwood and St. Clair
The couple has painted the main floor and upgraded their stove.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
The couple’s realtor initially offered $1,000,000 for the house, and after a few negotiations with the seller, both parties settled on a price of $1,025,000. They agreed on a speedy three-week closing period and by May, 2025, Mrs. and Mr. McGillivray had the keys to their new home in hand.
They’ve made a few small changes since then – painting the main floor, upgrading the electric stove to a stainless-steel model and taking down an old tree in the front yard that was decaying and at risk of falling on the property. In order to move the couple’s piano up to the third floor, they also needed a stair and railing company to saw off and replace a railing.
Thankfully, the couple hasn’t received any noise complaints from Mr. McGillivray’s rehearsing yet. “It’s a musical neighbourhood,” Mrs. McGillivray said. “Our neighbour two doors down, her grandson visits a lot and in the summer, you can hear the sound of him practising the saxophone wafting through the windows.”
Mr. and Mrs. McGillivray are excited to become homeowners in the city where they met. “If you’d asked those two starving-artist kids 20 years ago, if they ever thought that they were going to buy a house in midtown Toronto, they definitely would have told you, ‘no,’” Mrs. McGillivray said. “It feels great for the phase in our lives that we’re in.”
