It's no secret that Toronto's real estate market is a mess.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) figures from May showed that sales of condos and houses dropped by 21.7 percent last month compared to May 2023.

But the number of new listings were up by 21.1 percent during the same period.

Stairs to the basement.

There are more houses on the market than interested buyers and yet, the prices are still stupid. 

Take, for example, 70 Dunraven Dr. which is listed for $699,000. 

The gutted house. 

This house isn't really a house, but more just four walls with a roof. 

It used to be a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home, but sometime after it sold in January 2023 for just under $630,000, it became a zero-bedroom, zero-bathroom structure. 

The main floor of the house. 

The home was completely gutted and then either the current owners ran out of money for the renovation or just decided it wasn't worth it. 

70 Dunraven Dr. was re-listed in May 2023 for $739,000.

Then re-listed again in July, September, and another three times this year. 

The home has been gutted back to the studs. 

And sure, the home has "potential," as the listing states.

70 Dunraven Dr. is a detached house, sitting on a spacious 25 by 125-foot lot in an up-and-coming neighbourhood with decent transit infrastructure around. 

Plus with the upcoming Eglington LRT and Barrie Line Go Expansion, transit will be even more reliable and the home prices will go up. 

The side of the house. 

But when finished homes are selling for an average of $930K in the area, asking almost $700K for a very unfinished house seems audacious.

Full gut renos, depending on the scope of the project, often cost more than $200,000.

So, by the time you pay land transfer tax and closing costs and complete the renovations, 70 Dunraven Dr. isn't as attractive of an investment as one might think. 

There is potential for frontyard parking and a backyard garden suite. 

Then again, if you're not planning to sell it anytime soon and want to create your dream home from scratch, then 70 Dunraven Dr. could be a great blank canvas to do that.