There's a nice, affordable place down on Railway St., in rural Mankota, Sask.
The owner points out: "It would be a great community to retire in (and) make new friends with some of the best people in southern Saskatchewan."
The asking price for the detached, three-bedroom bungalow -- not too far from the local rodeo grounds and with enough space to grow a garden or two -- is just $39,000.
Against the national average house price of $372,544 -- up 8% from last April and compared to the typical $879,039 place for sale in Vancouver -- it's among the nation's cheapest detached homes.
Excluding mobiles, there are other budget-conscience digs out there to be found, including one in Portage La Prairie, Man., for only $20,000.
The Railway St. home can be yours, with 20% down, for just $119 a month. If the ultra-wealthy were to use the same basic mortgage calculator to finance their own thick slices of the Canadian dream -- which they certainly do not -- the monthly payment on Canada's priciest condo would have most of us choking on our Kraft Dinner.
In fact, at $28 million, the proud new homeowner who just bought the top penthouse at Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, would -- if they were somehow forced to finance like regular folks -- be looking at a monthly mortgage payment of $85,503.50. Spread out over the next 30 years.
How many of us can afford to even consider buying a place at the extreme other end of a 'for sale' list that begins somewhere down on Railway St. in a community of 250 people?
More than you would think.
"It's almost a worldwide club," says Dianne Usher, an expert in luxury homes for Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.
Members include Canadian financial barons who have seen a quiet return of their bulging bonuses as well as European elite who are escaping uncertainty to buy Toronto and Montreal condos with staff quarters or palaces hidden in the outlining townships. Then there's new money from Asia being spent on opulent castles on our west coast and into the Rockies.
Usher says they've seen an increase in the number of sales of these mega-homes, and suspects the trend will only grow.
Canada is safe, has good schools and offers all the necessities needed by the world's richest inhabitants.
The results of the last federal election have only fuelled our image as a secure nation, she adds.
Among the things the rich want in a mega-house: perfect landscapes, a 16-car garage and the ability to remotely open the blinds in their Canadian condo as they're sitting on the deck of their boat off the Florida coast.
For the rest of us, the national average home price in this country is expected to rise by at least 4% this year to $352,500.
But if even that's too much for you, there's a place in Saskatchewan -- with pretty blue wallpaper in the master bedroom and a short drive from two banks, bowling alley and skating rink -- that may seem to compare with a $39-million rancher home now being built overlooking Vancouver.
You're right. Likely not. But which sounds more attainable?
Who bought Canada's most expensive home?
We know about the separate staff quarters.
And bathroom windows that reach to the sky.
But who bought Canada's most expensive condo -- a 9,000-sq.-ft. penthouse at the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences at the corner of Bay St. and Yorkville Ave in Toronto?
$28 million not only buys historic opulence, but privacy as well.
Alan Menkes of Menkes Developments, will only say it's an international buyer, though there were Canadians interested.
"We respect the confidentiality of our buyers," he told QMI Agency.
The owner wanted not only an amazing suite, but also rare amenities that come with the Four Seasons brand, Menkes added.
The suite is on the 55th floor, and features a stone fireplace, theatre, wine cellar for 800 bottles and TVs that retreat behind vanity mirrors.
While impossible to know who bought the condo, it's easy to know most people you know couldn't afford it.
At the sold price, it would likely be out of reach even for Prince William and his new wife Kate, whom the foreign press -- after their Canada itinerary was announced this past week -- speculated might try to make Canada their second home.
Though there are still a few less-expensive places still available in the complex.
