Selling a Home
How to price, prep, stage, and close a sale in the GTA — including the pre-listing timeline, reading offers, and the math behind list-vs-sold spreads.
April 22, 2026 · The Couple Estates
How to Sell a House in Toronto in 2026: The 8-Step Listing Playbook
A step-by-step Toronto seller's playbook for 2026 — pricing strategy, prep timeline, commissions, offer review, closing. Real cost example on a $1.2M Etobicoke detached.
December 17, 2025 · The Couple Estates
Toronto Council Just Approved a Luxury Land Transfer Tax Hike: Up to 8.6% on $20M+ Homes Starting April 1, 2026
On December 17, 2025, Toronto City Council voted 17-7 to raise the Municipal Land Transfer Tax on homes over $3 million. Here are the new brackets, what they cost, and what luxury buyers and sellers should do before April 1.
December 8, 2025 · The Couple Estates
Selling a Tenanted Property in Ontario 2026: N12 Notice, Vacancy, and Buyer Disclosures
The 2026 Ontario seller's playbook for selling a property with sitting tenants — sell tenanted vs serve N12 for buyer use, RECO disclosure obligations, two real-world case studies.
Selling a Home — frequently asked questions
Plan for 4–6% of the sale price: ~5% in real estate commission (split between listing and buyer brokerages, plus HST), $1,500–$2,500 for the seller's lawyer, and any pre-listing repairs or staging. Toronto sellers also face the Municipal Land Transfer Tax on their next purchase, not on the sale itself.
Average days-on-market in 2026 is around 30 days, with 95% list-to-sale ratio. Well-priced and prepped homes in high-demand neighbourhoods still go in 7–14 days. Overpriced homes often sit 60+ days and finish below list.
Yes — staged homes sell ~73% faster than unstaged comparables and typically return 5–10× the staging cost in higher offers. For a vacant home, full staging ($3,000–$8,000) is almost always positive ROI. For an occupied home, partial staging or a stylist consult ($300–$800) is usually enough.
A bully offer is a pre-emptive offer submitted before the seller's scheduled offer date. Accepting it gives you certainty but forfeits the auction dynamic that often produces the highest price. The right answer depends on the offer's strength, market velocity, and your timeline.