According to a posting on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) website, the home, which rests on 6.6 acres of property, was sold to an undisclosed buyer for $16.5 million — far less than the listed $21.8-million price tag.
The urban estate, which includes nine bedrooms and 15 bathrooms along with a pool and spa, was initially supposed to be auctioned off, but while potential bidders drank wine and ate canapés waiting for the auction to begin they were told a pre-emptive offer had come and the auction had been cancelled.
The move to cancel the auction and sell — especially for less than the asking price — left some auctions professionals scratching their heads.
“Why would you cancel an auction and make a deal for less than what you potentially could make in an auction?” asked Cameron Thomas, manager of estate contents with Ritchies Auctioneers, on Tuesday. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Black’s home at 26 Park Lane Circle isn’t the only property on Canada’s “Millionaire’s Row” to hit the market recently.
Over the past year more than one property in the exclusive enclave have sold at prices in the millions. The home at 38 Park Lane Circle sold for $6.8 million in June; number 28 sold for $9.34 million in July.
Originally, Black said the purpose of the sale was to downsize to something more “manageable,” but after the sale went through he told the Star he and his wife, Barbara Amiel, would be staying on in the home his father built.
“It’s a sale and lease-back with a possible buy-back, all on a reasonable basis,” he wrote in an email. “I expect we shall remain in the house for some years at least, and perhaps permanently.”
Read the full post in Toronto Star GTA
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