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A quick tour of a house for sale in Toronto, Canada, was captured in a now-viral TikTok video, but its layout left many viewers astonished.
Shared to Nero Naveendran's TikTok account @realtor.nero, the video amassed more than two million views as it showed different parts of the house.
"This is what $1.95M buys you in Toronto," read the text over the video. The asking price for the house converts to roughly $1.4 million USD.
According to a Desjardins report compiled by economists Randall Bartlett, Hélène Begin and Marc Desormeaux and cited by Bloomberg, house prices peaked in February, but they have since declined and continue to fall.
"That said, we still believe home prices will end 2023 above pre-pandemic levels nationally and in all [10] provinces," the report said.
The home in the video is exceedingly narrow, seemingly made out of metal shipping containers stacked two or three stories high, transforming the house into, in essence, stacked hallways.
As the agent walked up the four steps to the modern wood-and-glass front door, the camera followed.
When he opens the door, however, the cameraman takes the viewer up a narrow staircase of dark brown steps with the wall on the right painted orange and the other white.
At the top of the landing, the orange, white, and brown colors continued to fill the space. The first room in view from the top of the stairs seemed to be a kitchen with plenty of counter space, a small sink and a microwave, while open shelves contained dishes, spices and wine bottles.
But, watch out, there's a bicycle on the wall about head-high between the stairs and the kitchen.
Turning around in the kitchen, the camera takes the viewer squeezing past a small circular table with chairs, past the stairs again into a narrow living room, packed tightly with a couch, a chair, two end tables, and a TV on a stand.
Back to the staircase, this time going up, the stairs led to another TV room with a small patio outside.
In the opposite direction, past the stairs again, was a long hallway that contained a large mirror and a sink next to a bedroom.
But as the camera panned around the bedroom, it becomes evident that the shower and toilet are inside the bedroom instead of the makeshift hallway bathroom.
And that's where the video ended.
'Just Had To See It'
A realtor himself, Naveendran told Newsweek in an email that he has never seen a house like the one he filmed.
"It was super unique, and I just had to see it in person," he said. "I reached out to the listing agent after I saw the listing because I knew I would be able to promote it and make it go viral."
After walking through the house, Naveendran said it looked "OK" until he saw the bathroom in the bedroom. That, he said, was a dealbreaker.
The layout of the house as seen in the video left many viewers confused, and they did not hesitate to share their thoughts in the comments section.
"Never would I pay that much for that," a viewer wrote. "Maybe 499k tops only because it's in Toronto."
"The 'can you get out of my way' house," wrote another.
"I've never laughed so hard in my life," one viewer commented.
Others expressed their shock upon finding the toilet in the same room as the bed.
"The toilet is beside my bed," a TikTok user commented. "Who the hell made that design choice?"
"The bathroom and bedroom is in one room and then you have to wash your hands in the hallway," another viewer wrote.
'Unique Modern Creation'
Realtor Keven Trudel posted photos of the house on Facebook on August 25 where he described the house as a "unique modern creation."
"It is currently divided into three separate residential units, each with its own private entrance, but could [easily] and quickly converted back to a single family home," the post on Facebook read.
It noted that the entire living space, including the basement, is 1,693 square feet. There are three bedrooms, four washrooms and three kitchens.
Trudel told CityNews Toronto that the seller is adamant on the asking price.
Newsweek reached out to Keven Trudel for further comment.
Other tours of houses have previously gone viral.
A man showed viewers the inside of his tiny apartment in a viral video, while another renter gave a tour of what tenants can expect from an apartment that costs $8,000 per month.
One video showed an apartment in London that had the bath in a cupboard.
About the writer
Catherine Ferris is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting for the U.S. Trends Team. She ... Read more