Teresa Estevez took on the task of selling her Mississauga home privately after finding the price of hiring a real estate agent to be more than she’d anticipated. “I can’t afford to pay an agent right now because of the high commission,” she said. “We invested all of this money into the house. … If I was to get an agent, I would be losing [money].” She’s not alone.

Toronto's highrise-housing building boom should continue to climb skyward for the next couple of years thanks to the sputtering U.S. economy, Toronto Real Estate Board president Richard Silver says.