^ Unbelievably bland...
Speaking of mansions on farmland.
I've been curious about this for the past few years when driving around here.
For instance, some big houses off Trafalgar where Oakville and Milton meet. Or up around Elgin Mills in rural Markham. Or any former farm land in Halton Hills.
I see a fancy gate, a long driveway and an impressive house. But then it hits me. The closest tree to your house is 40 yards away.
I try think about the psychology of a rich person who can accept a barren landscape as their front and back yards despite being rich. Joe Schmo living in a blue collar neighbourhood has a cozier yard than you do.
If I were super rich, I don't think I could accept looking out my window at nothing. I have the money, I feel like one of the important aspects of my home is having a proper yard.
To some people, which is a lot, they care literally just about having a nice house, the material aspect of things, and don't give a shit about their yard. For instance, you see how many people are willing to pay over a million for tight quarters tract housing with a token tree in the front that is barely taller than the actual homeowner and a backyard that is actually bare (new build) and is the size of a postage stamp. Personally speaking, I'd rather spend the money on an older house in a mature neighbourhood with trees everywhere, big driveway and big backyard. In many cases you can find a similarly sized house for cheaper and then upgrade with the savings in money. I know someone who had a new build house in Caledon East and as they grew their family they decided to sell it and buy an older home in Old Caledon East for cheaper and then reno it. They now have a backyard you can actually kick a ball in.
My cousin lives in a 3 storey rowhouse in Mississauga that luxuriously finished and has 5 bathrooms. It's worth over a million. He can barely squeeze his car into the garage and the driveway fits just one more. The backyard is somewhere you can sit down and have a beer and do some barbecue. No more than that. And ya, one little tree. If you have toys and gear, especially if you have kids, it's impossible to store it sensibly. I don't know where he'd put 3 bikes, lawn mower, power washer, tires, garbage/recycle bins, strollers, wagons, etc.
I do wonder if there's a significant discount between a mansion on empty land and the equivalent on a wooded lot, which is like 30 seconds down the road. Is that the reason why a rich person would take that soulless house over one with charm? They are both 7,000 sf but because one is so much cheaper, he can actually afford the same 7,000 sf as the one on a nice lot and not have to settle for 6,000 sf on a wooded lot?
Couple examples from satellite:
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5227.../data=!3m1!1e3
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5299.../data=!3m1!1e3
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