Our Terrible Reality with Real Estate

Real estate 'chaos' sends millennials scrambling before they're priced out

The modest house in west Toronto wasn't their ideal starter home, but with a little compromise, it was close enough. Besides, it had a newly renovated kitchen and there was a daycare centre right around the corner.

The semi-detached was listed for an enticing $649,000 in a neighbourhood near where 30-year-old Elia Briganti grew up, where much of her family still lives and where she'd like to raise her 18-month-old daughter.

Feeling intense pressure to get out of their condo and armed with a $700,000 budget, Briganti and her husband put in what they thought was a solid offer.

But the couple got an ugly initiation into what one realtor calls the "organized chaos" of the city's real estate battlefield: In just days, a bidding war drove up the price another $100,000. They had to surrender.

"It was eye-opening, and frustrating that this market is forcing us out of this area, where our roots are. This is my city, I love it," says Briganti.

"My husband and I work hard, and I thought we had a great income. But when it comes to real estate, it doesn't seem to matter."

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