Dear reader,

Welcome to Curb Appeal, our new real estate newsletter. Toronto is a city obsessed with its real estate—we love to marvel at it, bemoan it, gossip about it, lament it and celebrate it. Curb Appeal will touch on the beauty (House of the Week), ingenuity (DIY Makeovers), struggle (Cost of Living) and drama (Adventures in Real Estate) of it all. We hope you’ll enjoy it.

This century-old townhouse on Harcourt Avenue, in the heart of Riverdale, comes with three bedrooms, five bathrooms and a deep backyard. Newly renovated, the 2,000-square-foot semi also features a kitchen fit for TV, a custom oak feature wall and a rooftop deck. It’s listed for $2.3 million.

In April, the average GTA home was selling for $1.15 million—about eight per cent less than last year’s runaway prices. So what does a below-market-average property look like? Here, three different two-bedrooms in three different neighbourhoods that recently sold for less than $850,000.

This 950-square-foot Yorkville suite—on the market for $1.3 million—boasts one of the city’s coolest views. The two-bedroom corner unit overlooks the ROM’s dinosaur gallery and has a wrap-around balcony and floor-to-ceiling windows.