A three-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Mississauga's Erin Mills neighbourhood recently sold for $250,000 above asking after receiving a staggering 85 offers. 

The semi-detached, two-storey property, located at 3479 Longleaf Court just off Burnhamthorpe Road West and Winston Churchill Boulevard,  was recently listed for $749,000. 

Can we go back to the days when semis were 264,000 😭

— doubleroti (@englishnaan) January 31, 2024

According to the listing, the home boasts an open kitchen with granite countertops, spacious bedrooms on the upper level, an expansive patio, and a fully-finished basement with a separate entrance. 

On Monday, the home managed to sell for just under $1 million at $999,999 — $250,000 above its original asking price. In an effort to presumably facilitate a bidding war situation, the home was listed at the same price as it was put on the market for in 2017. 

Realtor listed the property extremely low. 2017 prices!!

— Robbie_Snipe⚛️ (@RobbieSnipe) February 1, 2024

A Reddit thread showing a massive lineup of prospective homebuyers outside of the property during an open house went viral this week, reigniting discussions about affordability, mortgage rates, as well as the resurgence of bidding wars. 

Didn’t think this was still happening with current interest rates.

— Bluebird2022 (@BlueBird2022m3) January 31, 2024

Back in November, the provincial government announced that it was gearing up to modernize rules governing Ontario's real estate services sector to educate both homebuyers and sellers, as well as strengthen consumer confidence when dealing with brokerages and salespersons. 

The new rules — which officially came into effect on Dec. 1, 2023 — give consumers more choice in the real estate trade process by allowing a brokerage to disclose the details of competing offers. 

Bidding wars are back unfortunately and you don’t need to take my word for it.

This person says it: “like the flip of a switch”.

Someone on my last tweet said “Demand changes quickly, supply changes slowly.”

This is what we’re seeing now; several on the ground accounts are… pic.twitter.com/rwf4nNAMdD

— Nasma Ali (@nasmadotali) January 25, 2024

"Buying, leasing, and selling real estate is one of the biggest and most important decisions a person or business will ever make so it's critical that rules for real estate brokerages, brokers, and salespersons reflect modern business practices that foster a strong and vibrant real estate market," said Todd McCarthy, Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery.

The changes introduced under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA), 2020, will allow real estate brokerages to disclose the details of competing offers if the seller directs them to do so, excluding personal or identifying information.

"Ontarians who buy or sell a home now have greater clarity on their rights, as well as the duties owed to them by real estate agents and brokerages," said Michael Beard, Chief Executive Officer of RECO. 

In its latest Market Watch report, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) also noted that higher borrowing costs coupled with unrealistic federal mortgage qualification standards resulted in an unaffordable market in 2023. 

Here's how much Toronto home prices have changed in the last decade https://t.co/hZ91xfZgBX

— blogTO (@blogTO) January 30, 2024

However, relief appears to be on the horizon in 2024, when borrowing costs are expected to trend lower, which should see a rebound in home sales. 

"Assuming borrowing costs trend lower this year, look for tighter market conditions to prompt renewed price growth in the months ahead," said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.