Homeowners demanding ridiculous prices in Toronto

When it comes to high end real estate it is understandable that some rich people would see their house as an investment to later be cashed in on - and thus are asking for ridiculous prices for their premium estates.

Premium Toronto estate homes are properties listed for $1.8-million to $10-million plus.

Example: In May one Toronto business titan has just quietly listed his house on Old Forest Hill Road with an asking price of $20-million.

I don't know the details, but he probably bought it a decade ago for half of that.

What home-sellers don't seem to be realizing however is that the market is drying up. Buyers aren't buying as much as they used to. Houses are staying on the market a lot longer before they sell - especially for the pricier homes.

A $4-million home in the South Hill area of Toronto recently was sold after almost 13 months on the market.

Two years ago asking for more (A LOT MORE) was okay. During the dizzying spring markets of 2011 buyers were more willing to throw an extra $100,000 into an offer because all of the momentum at the time was upwards - and the market conditions looked stable.

Now it looks like Toronto is ripe for a market correction. Prices are still up, but buyers have dried up. They're all waiting for the market prices to soften.

Even real estate investors are worried. People looking to buy a house and flip it for a profit are also skittish. (At this point only fools are rushing in.)

It is also a regional thing.

Prices of homes closer to the city core are continuing to go up. Its homes further from the centre of Toronto - way out in the burbs, Richmond Hill, Brampton, etc - which are seeing both a lack of interest, but in some areas there is even a drop in prices.

Buyers are evidently looking for places closer to downtown - and they're unwilling to pay big bucks for homes in the middle of nowhere.