Selling a condo in 2026 has needed a different approach. Inventory has been rising, buyer demand has stayed limited, and condos have been averaging about 48 days on market. Sellers face more competition for fewer active buyers, and many of those buyers are comparing condos against freehold townhouses, where a similar budget can bring more space, another bedroom, and sometimes a backyard.

33 Clegg Road, Unit D108 was no exception. A two-bedroom-plus-den condo townhome at Fontana Condos in Unionville, with three bathrooms, about 1,450 square feet, two parking spaces and a locker, it launched at $828,880 with a strategy built to reach a broad range of buyers. The showings came. The feedback, though, kept saying the same things: the price felt comparable to a freehold townhouse, the bedrooms felt small, and the layout did not suit some visitors.

The activity was there. The right buyer was not connecting with the property. That is the moment many listings start drifting toward a price cut. Michael John Lau read it differently.

One of the most important skills in real estate is knowing when to adjust the strategy. After reviewing the showing activity and speaking with the agents who had brought buyers through, a pattern stood out: a large portion of the early visitors were downsizers.

That changed how the home should be presented. First-time buyers and upsizers were measuring the unit against freehold properties and finding it short on bedrooms. Downsizers were measuring it against the large family home they were leaving, and for them the priorities are different: convenience, a manageable living space, secure parking, storage, and the right type of property, rather than another bedroom or a bigger footprint.

So the positioning shifted. The marketing began to lead with the lifestyle and benefits that matter most to someone simplifying their life, not the features that lost a comparison to a townhouse down the road. The goal was no longer to convince every buyer that this was the right home. It was to connect with the buyer who would appreciate exactly what it offered.

Showing feedback is not just about whether buyers liked the property. It can tell you who your most likely buyer actually is.Michael John Lau

The repositioning worked. A buyer came through who loved the unit and could see themselves living there. Then came the concern that could have ended it: the condominium had a pet restriction limiting pets to 25 lbs, and for these buyers that was close to a dealbreaker.

Rather than assuming the restriction closed the door, Michael went back to the condominium's governing documents. He reviewed the declaration and bylaws carefully and found an exception relating to live/work units. Unit D108 is designated as a live/work unit, which made that exception relevant to the buyers' situation.

It was a detail that could easily have been overlooked. By taking the time to understand the actual wording of the documents, Michael was able to identify a potential path forward and help the buyers obtain the clarification they needed. The exception and its interpretation were reviewed in the context of the specific unit and the buyers' circumstances, and the buyers confirmed their position before moving ahead.

Confirming it properly took time, and that time was worth spending. Michael ordered the status certificate from the condominium corporation, made sure the buyers' lawyer reviewed it in full, and waited for the lawyer's feedback before the deal firmed up. A status certificate is the buyer's window into the building: its finances, its reserve fund, any special assessments or lawsuits, and the declaration, bylaws, and rules themselves. For these buyers, it was also the document that put the live/work exception in writing.

With the status certificate reviewed and the lawyer's feedback in hand, the buyers moved forward. 33 Clegg Road, Unit D108 sold for $860,000 on an $828,880 list price, $31,120 over asking, in 45 days, in a market where condos were averaging about 48 days and many listings were still competing for the same limited pool of buyers. The seller could move on to her next chapter.

The 45 days matter. Roughly the first stretch went to the original positioning and the feedback that reshaped it; the rest went to doing the condo-document work properly rather than rushing a buyer past a concern that could have unwound the deal later.

The sale reinforced a lesson that applies well beyond condos. Selling a property is not always about getting more people through the door. It is about finding the right buyer, understanding what matters to them, and knowing how to clear the obstacles that stand between interest and a closed sale.

1. 01

   Know your audience

   Showing feedback reveals more than whether buyers liked the home. It can reveal who the most likely buyer actually is, and that should shape everything from the photos to the first line of the listing.

2. 02

   Be willing to change the strategy

   When the original positioning is not connecting, doing the same thing for another month is not the answer. Neither is reaching for a price cut before the strategy has been questioned.

3. 03

   Understand the details

   Condo declarations, bylaws, and rules can decide a buyer's choice. Knowing where to look, and reading the actual wording, can be the difference between a lost buyer and a closed sale.

At the Kaizen Real Estate Team, every property gets a strategy built around its own features, its likely buyer, and the realities of the current market. That is what full-service selling means in practice.