Toronto Real Estate with the Julie Kinnear Team

• 45 McGee Street
• Asking price: $349,000
• Selling price: $325,600
• Taxes: $2,460 (2008)
• Lot size: 22 by 104 feet
• Days on the market: 17
• Listing and co-op agent: Julie Kinnear, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.

This bungalow townhouse is a rare architectural breed, one that agent Julie Kinnear says she seldom sees outside of the older Riverside neighbourhood.

"There are lots of old, unique-style houses [down there] like this," Ms. Kinnear says. "It'd be ideal for a couple."

The nearly century-old residence is larger than it appears, having 1,190 square feet of above-ground living space and 980 square feet in the basement.

The rare bungalows found downtown have sizable basements, the agent explains, because their footprints are significantly larger than those of two-storey homes.

In this house, the porch was transformed into a sunroom and skylights were installed in the dining room and a bedroom. "It's very naturally bright," Ms. Kinnear says.

Oak hardwood floors cover those spaces and the wide living room.

At some point, an addition was put on the back of the house, providing space for a master bedroom with parquet flooring and a wall-to-wall closet, as well as an eat-in kitchen. The latter features checkerboard tile flooring and halogen lights. Off of this space are a bathroom with a skylight, and a side exit to the yard and a rear laneway with space for two cars.

"A lot of the houses around there don't have parking," the agent notes.

Last year, the lower-level recreation room was professionally finished: The ceiling was raised to seven feet, laminate flooring was laid, and pot lights and glass-block windows were installed.

Other recent improvements include replacing the roof, upgrading the wiring and plumbing systems, installing thermopane, double-hung windows and applying a new coat of paint to the interior.

The house is on a quiet, tree-lined street near parks, sports facilities and schools as well as trendy shops and restaurants on Queen Street East and studio warehouses in the film district.

"It's a really cool location," Ms. Kinnear says.