$650,000 Toronto house with a pool comes with a big catch

With Toronto summer (optimistically) just around the corner, there's nothing quite like the idea of having your own backyard pool.

And in this market? Finding a house with a pool for under $1 million is basically impossible.

Which is what makes 8 Wonderland Dr., a detached home in Scarborough listed for $649,999, feel almost too good to be true.

Because yes — it does come with a pool.

The front entrance. 

An in-ground pool, no less. Not one of those flimsy above-ground setups destined to collapse mid–family barbecue and end up on America's Funniest Home Videos.

The foyer. 

But a price like that, in this city, immediately raises a bit of an eyebrow.

The living room with a fireplace. 

On paper, it actually sounds like a steal.

One of the bedrooms with original hardwood. 

A full brick house on a 50-by-100-foot lot? Check.

Five bedrooms? Check.

Separate entrance to a finished basement? Check.

And yes — an in-ground pool.

The living room and dining room. 

But before you start planning your first pool party, there's… a catch.

The backyard. 

The pool currently looks less like a backyard oasis and more like a swamp or something you'd stumble across in a post-apocalyptic movie. Complete with murky water, overgrown weeds, and strong "accidental ecosystem" vibes.

The pool. 

You're not so much diving in as you are potentially discovering a new species of frog.

The kitchen. 

And the rest of the house? It hasn't exactly been keeping up with Toronto's love affair with quartz countertops and matte black everything.

The breakfast nook. 

Inside, the raised bungalow offers over 1,200 square feet of above-ground living space, plus a 946-square-foot finished basement.

The solarium. 

The layout is actually pretty solid, with a second kitchen downstairs and a separate side entrance through a solarium — the kind of setup investors and multi-generational families tend to love.

One of two bathrooms. 

But aesthetically, it's very much a time capsule.

The downstairs carpeted bathroom. 

We're talking dated finishes, heavily worn materials, and yes — a carpeted bathroom, which remains one of the 1970s ' most baffling design choices.

Another bedroom. 

Still, beneath the layers of… personality… there's potential.

The basement recreation room with a fireplace. 

The home features two fireplaces, a generous footprint, and a layout that could be transformed into something far more modern with the right vision (and budget).

Another bedroom. 

And for buyers who aren't afraid of a project, this is exactly the kind of listing that starts to look interesting.

The laundry area. 

At this lot size and price point, even a full rebuild isn't off the table.

The second kitchen. 

Location-wise, it checks plenty of boxes. The home sits in a quiet, family-friendly pocket near Morningside, with easy access to Highway 401, the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, and Centennial College. You're also just minutes from Morningside Park, with its ravine trails, green space, and picnic spots.

And then there's the price.

A basement bedroom. 

In an area where homes typically sell between $795,000 and $1,380,000, snagging a detached property for under $650,000 is about as rare as it gets.

The back of the house. 

Just… maybe don't send out those pool party invites yet.