For a number of reasons, most people looking at a residential freehold property start with the house. They look at the size, condition, layout, number of bedrooms, the kitchen, the basement and everything else that matters to them as they consider a new home.

Sometimes, our buyer clients are focused on the lot itself, but typically only in relation to a need they have for their lifestyle. Clients with dogs often want a large, fenced yard, while a client with a family may be interested in a lot that can accommodate a pool and outdoor living amenities.

On occasion, our buyer clients are looking for lots that have the potential to be severed. These clients tend to be savvy, investment-focused buyers rather than end users. Those searches are always interesting because listing agents – and the owners of the properties being sold – sometimes don’t realize their property is suitable for severance.

While the size of the lot is a crucial part of that calculation, sometimes a large lot is simply a large lot. Other times, the size and shape of the property raise the question as to whether this one lot could reasonably become two.

That does not mean every oversized lot is a good candidate for severance, or that every potentially severable lot is worth pursuing, but there are certain characteristics that make it worth exploring. After all, if one property can realistically become two desirable properties, that can change the value equation considerably.

Let’s talk about what we look at when we’re considering severance.

It’s a lot. Sorry, we mean, it’s about the lot.

The first thing that tends to get our attention is frontage. If most of the properties on a street are 30, 40 or 50 feet wide and one is sitting on substantially more, it is worth asking whether that extra width creates another opportunity.

That does not mean you can simply divide the frontage by two and declare victory. The resulting lots still need to make sense. A property that can potentially become two well-proportioned building lots is very different from one that leaves behind two awkward parcels that nobody particularly wants.

Crucially, even if the potential severed lots seem appealing, zoning needs to be in your favour. We’ve often sold properties where the possibility of severing the lot initially seemed interesting, but we determined that the current zoning wouldn’t allow it as proposed. The biggest stumbling block often has to do with minimum lot width in the zoning for the area. Even if you have a 60 ft wide lot, if the minimum required width is more than 30 ft, the proposed lots would not comply with the existing zoning and you may need a variance.

While width is typically the biggest determinant in the potential for severance, depth matters as well. A wide lot that is unusually shallow may not give you much to work with, while a property with good width and good depth can provide much more flexibility.

The timing and nature of the development of a neighbourhood can create a wide variety of lot shapes, and that absolutely matters as well. Rectangular lots are generally easier to understand, although irregular properties can sometimes create opportunities that are less obvious at first glance.

Remember, the point is not simply whether a line can be drawn through the property. It is whether the two properties on either side of that line would still be useful, desirable and valuable.

Location, location…wait, what comes next?

A potential severance does not exist in isolation, so one of the first things we want to know is what has already happened nearby.

  • Have similar lots on the street or in the neighbourhood been divided?
  • Have builders been buying larger properties and replacing them with two homes?
  • What frontage do the newer properties have?
  • What have those lots and finished homes actually sold for?

That information matters because even if a property can potentially be divided, there still needs to be an economic reason to do it. If a large property is worth roughly the same amount as the two smaller properties would be worth together, there may not be much of an opportunity after allowing for the time, cost and uncertainty involved. If, however, the two resulting properties would be worth substantially more, the calculation starts to become much more interesting.

Nice house. Too nice, actually.

One of the more interesting parts of this analysis is that the house itself can sometimes work against the redevelopment potential. If you have a beautifully renovated and valuable home sitting in the middle of a large lot, there may technically be an opportunity to do something different with the land, but you are also giving up a lot of existing value to get there.

Now take the same piece of land with an older house that contributes relatively little to the overall value of the property. In that situation, a much larger percentage of the value may be tied to the land itself, which can make redevelopment or severance more compelling.

That does not mean an older home is automatically a development property, and it certainly does not mean a renovated one cannot be. It just means that when we are trying to understand what a property is really worth, we need to look at both the value that already exists and the value that might be created.

Speaking of severance…

Given our interest and experience with properties that have severance potential, it should not come as a surprise that we sometimes represent buyers and sellers interested in that sort of transaction.

We currently, as of October 2026, have an exclusive listing at 148 Colonel Danforth Trail that is a good example of the sort of property that makes it worth looking beyond the house itself.

The property sits on a large, irregular, pie-shaped parcel at Colonel Danforth Trail and Meadowvale Road. It’s a lovely neighbourhood on a high-end street and there have been a number of properties where the existing home was torn down and new custom homes were built.

Our client was pursuing the idea of severing the property and then having us list both lots for sale. As he went through the process, he decided he was also open to a sale of the existing property as a whole, so we’ve taken it on as an exclusive listing.

The current proposal looks at dividing the property into two residential parcels of roughly 5,390 and 5,436 square feet. A survey has been completed, a draft reference plan has been prepared and conceptual plans have been created for two replacement detached homes.

The severance process is still at an early stage, so there are not two approved building lots sitting there today, and that distinction matters. What is different, though, is that the opportunity has moved well beyond somebody standing on a big lot and saying, “Maybe you could split this.”

There is a specific proposal behind it, work has already been done and there is enough information available for a potential buyer to understand what is being contemplated.

That is the sort of workup we like to do for clients who own properties that may have severance or redevelopment potential. Rather than simply adding a line to the listing saying that a property “may be severable,” we want to understand what the opportunity could actually look like, what has happened nearby and how much that potential may matter to value.

If you’re curious about this specific opportunity, or you want to see the sort of approach we take with properties that could be severed, check out the page here.

It presents the opportunity in more detail, including the proposed two-lot configuration, the current status, the survey and draft plans, conceptual house designs and nearby sales that help provide some context for the surrounding market.

Here buyer, buyer, here!

While identifying the potential of a property is important, it is only part of the job. Once we have a property where severance or redevelopment may matter to the value, the marketing has to reflect that reality.

In such cases, we do not simply put the property on MLS and hope the right builder or developer happens to notice it. Over the years, we have built relationships with developers and custom home builders who look for these kinds of opportunities, and we also track agents who are actively involved in comparable development and severance transactions.

That gives us a more targeted group to market to and means the workup we prepare for the property can be put directly in front of people who are more likely to understand what they are looking at – and to potentially purchase it.

For a property like this, that can matter just as much as the analysis itself. The better we understand the opportunity, the better we can explain it, package it and get it in front of the people who may actually want to do something with it.

We hope you’ve got a better sense of what makes properties like this interesting from a real estate perspective. There is the value of the property as it sits today, based on the existing house, land and market. Then there is the potential value of what the property might become. Sometimes, the difference between those two numbers can create a very interesting opportunity.

If you want a more detailed look at the severance process, checked out our Refined Guide to Land Severance you can review here. For a specific discussion about your property, get in touch with us to book a time to chat!