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RetroGrouch said:
I hear that half of all those condo units are bought by overseas speculators who rent them waiting for that big pay off one day when it's worth twice what they paid for. If they even last that long due to cheap and fast construction.
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That's what I heard too, but it still means someone is living in those units and I wonder where all those people are coming from. I've heard of a lot of condos siting empty as an investment from overseas, but I'm not buying it. What would the logic behind paying mortgage and maintenance for unused property be?

RetroGrouch said:
I predict advertisers will rent window space from those Gardiner level condo owners to put up their logos and ads.
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Good prediction :). Until they pass a bylaw to prohibit such practice...
 
interested in your thoughts on the market of original homes on transitional streets/areas

my street has gone nuts in the last 2 years

lots are 40x135....and it's a 5 minute stroll to the Yonge subway line (North York Centre station)...place is west of Yonge

developers are buying the really small 2 bdrm aluminum wrapped stuff built in the early 1940s for upwards of $650k and they build these real nice new places with the latest one selling for $1.65 mil and the current newest listing asking $1.8 mil.....and it's condo alley on either side of Yonge from Sheppard to Finch where 600 sq ft with a parking spot is nearly $400k

so if you've got a place built in the late 50s/early 60s that's a nice size (3 bdrm brick attached garage etc) and fully renovated to a high quality....is there a market out there for a buyer to buy and live in it for higher that the developers are paying for the really small stuff, but far less than the new places?

so if tear-downs are getting $650k and the new places are getting $1.65 mil....does and nice reno-d original have a market at $800-$900k???

appreciate your thoughts
 
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You guys are dumb. TONS and TONS of people are lining up to rent all those condos downtown. In fact, the rental market is retarded in Toronto right now. MANY MANY people I know around my age are renting condos downtown and only a handful own because they want the convenience and lifestyle associated with downtown living but have ZERO money to put down or just don't want to get locked down into something that pernament. In fact, so many people are moving downtown that some employers are moving their offices from the burbs to downtown cause that's where most of the workforce is. Are developers overdoing it with the amount of new construction? Probably, but until they start having trouble selling units and start loosing money this will keep happening.

99% of the people on this board DO NOT fit the target demographic for downtown condos so some of you do not understand but the average condo owner does not care about having a garage, in fact, many don't even care about owning a CAR, let alone a bike. The average condo buyer does not have 2-3 kids and 2 dogs that they need lots of room and a backyard for. They want to get to their place of employment in 10 minutes VS an hour+, preferably, without driving, they want to go to a bar/club on a weekend and crawl home drunk instead of paying $50 for a cab, they want to go to some trendy *** restaurants that are walking distance, they want to get laid, which having a condo downtown increases your chances about ten fold when going out, etc. The fact that your view sucks cause you're lookign at the gardiner does not affect ANY of these things except that it knocks a couple hundred bucks a month of the price of rent, which may put this "lifestyle" in some people's reach which might have otherwise not been.

I know people like this and the fact that I didn't move downtown to them is completely incomprehendable. They look at me like I'm crazy. Point is, the market is there, which is why they keep building.
 
82Seca750 said:
interested in your thoughts on the market of original homes on transitional streets/areas

my street has gone nuts in the last 2 years

lots are 40x135....and it's a 5 minute stroll to the Yonge subway line (North York Centre station)...place is west of Yonge

developers are buying the really small 2 bdrm aluminum wrapped stuff built in the early 1940s for upwards of $650k and they build these real nice new places with the latest one selling for $1.65 mil and the current newest listing asking $1.8 mil.....and it's condo alley on either side of Yonge from Sheppard to Finch where 600 sq ft with a parking spot is nearly $400k

so if you've got a place built in the late 50s/early 60s that's a nice size (3 bdrm brick attached garage etc) and fully renovated to a high quality....is there a market out there for a buyer to buy and live in it for higher that the developers are paying for the really small stuff, but far less than the new places?

so if tear-downs are getting $650k and the new places are getting $1.65 mil....does and nice reno-d original have a market at $800-$900k???

appreciate your thoughts
Click to expand...

The Yonge/Sheppard area is definitely a really hot pocket for people who don't want to live in small downtown lots, have a backyard and still close to subway to access downtown. I don't know if a really nice renovated "bungalow" would sell for that much as one of the allure of buying a infill home is space. If your house has the space and can be updated to similar standards, there's always a market for cheaper homes that don't offer all the bells and whistles...

You can chat with a real estate agent to see if it's a viable option to spend money... If you don't have anyone to help you with this, PM me your info and we can chat...

Hope this helps...
 
Roasted said:
You guys are dumb. TONS and TONS of people are lining up to rent all those condos downtown. In fact, the rental market is retarded in Toronto right now. MANY MANY people I know around my age are renting condos downtown and only a handful own because they want the convenience and lifestyle associated with downtown living but have ZERO money to put down or just don't want to get locked down into something that pernament. In fact, so many people are moving downtown that some employers are moving their offices from the burbs to downtown cause that's where most of the workforce is. Are developers overdoing it with the amount of new construction? Probably, but until they start having trouble selling units and start loosing money this will keep happening.

99% of the people on this board DO NOT fit the target demographic for downtown condos so some of you do not understand but the average condo owner does not care about having a garage, in fact, many don't even care about owning a CAR, let alone a bike. The average condo buyer does not have 2-3 kids and 2 dogs that they need lots of room and a backyard for. They want to get to their place of employment in 10 minutes VS an hour+, preferably, without driving, they want to go to a bar/club on a weekend and crawl home drunk instead of paying $50 for a cab, they want to go to some trendy *** restaurants that are walking distance, they want to get laid, which having a condo downtown increases your chances about ten fold when going out, etc. The fact that your view sucks cause you're lookign at the gardiner does not affect ANY of these things except that it knocks a couple hundred bucks a month of the price of rent, which may put this "lifestyle" in some people's reach which might have otherwise not been.

I know people like this and the fact that I didn't move downtown to them is completely incomprehendable. They look at me like I'm crazy. Point is, the market is there, which is why they keep building.
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Let's not start by calling everyone dumb!
 
Addy said:
The Yonge/Sheppard area is definitely a really hot pocket for people who don't want to live in small downtown lots, have a backyard and still close to subway to access downtown. I don't know if a really nice renovated "bungalow" would sell for that much as one of the allure of buying a infill home is space. If your house has the space and can be updated to similar standards, there's always a market for cheaper homes that don't offer all the bells and whistles...

You can chat with a real estate agent to see if it's a viable option to spend money... If you don't have anyone to help you with this, PM me your info and we can chat...

Hope this helps...
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appreciate the response

no plans to sell here....I've got 20 years of career left to commute downtown before I'd even think about it....I own the place outright....so we're not spending the money on it to flip it and try to make a profit

we've done renos because we want to live in a nice place and it's just my wife and I, so we don't need 3400 sq ft and 5 freakin bathrooms....but knowing that when the day comes it might only net us land-value is understandable....place is pretty much done now except for the basement which is happening next year

just figured that with a cool million between tiny tear-down vs new mansion that there might be wiggle room and that not all places need to be torn down

thanks
 
Recent stats I saw regarding condos show that there is a vacancy rate of less than 1% for downtown condos. I've personally listed new condos in downtown and been bombarded by Renters who want to rent the condo instead of the seller selling it. There is a lot of demand for properties in downtown and there's no denying it. There is an issue though...

People who have bought condos right now that haven't closed stand on the fringe... If you are self employed, i.e. investor, who has more than one property, we might see tightening in the mortgage rules which could leave you without a mortgage and your deposit on the line. This is relating to recent talks in the media regarding CMHC and how it should be pulling out of the insurance business for banks. Genworth is the secondary supplier for non-conventional mortgages (less than 20% down payment) and has been taking steps to aggressively market it's services. The final changes are yet to be seen and will dictate if there is a fall out from this.

Another issue to note is our incomes haven't been increase at the same rate as our mortgages. There has been a change in demographic that is feeding this... We are living longer, having less kids, spending more on our self, and baby boomers are opting to move closer to cities rather than out in the country to retire which is putting an upward pressure on prices.

There was a recent report from CMHC showing there are almost 25% condos that are currently empty in Toronto which isn't entirely accurate. These units are actually already sold to end users/investors and are awaiting occupancy. There is also left over inventory that enters the resale market through MLS and is captured through the MLS stats where we have 21 DOM as standard and 53 days of supply as per the April TREB Stats.

The market is hot... Which way it's going to go is to be seen... In my opinion, there won't be a wide spread market crash that we've seen in the US. If there is a correction, it will depend on the following three factors:

1. Interest Rate Hike
2. CMHC/mortgage tightening
3. Foreign investment gets dried up (this would effect the sales of pre-con condos causing a ripple)

I'm not an economist nor do I predict future for a living and the above is based on my observations and should be taken as my opinion as an observer.

Hope this helps...
 
Roasted said:
You guys are dumb. TONS and TONS of people are lining up to rent all those condos downtown. In fact, the rental market is retarded in Toronto right now. MANY MANY people I know around my age are renting condos downtown and only a handful own because they want the convenience and lifestyle associated with downtown living but have ZERO money to put down or just don't want to get locked down into something that pernament. In fact, so many people are moving downtown that some employers are moving their offices from the burbs to downtown cause that's where most of the workforce is. Are developers overdoing it with the amount of new construction? Probably, but until they start having trouble selling units and start loosing money this will keep happening.

99% of the people on this board DO NOT fit the target demographic for downtown condos so some of you do not understand but the average condo owner does not care about having a garage, in fact, many don't even care about owning a CAR, let alone a bike. The average condo buyer does not have 2-3 kids and 2 dogs that they need lots of room and a backyard for. They want to get to their place of employment in 10 minutes VS an hour+, preferably, without driving, they want to go to a bar/club on a weekend and crawl home drunk instead of paying $50 for a cab, they want to go to some trendy *** restaurants that are walking distance, they want to get laid, which having a condo downtown increases your chances about ten fold when going out, etc. The fact that your view sucks cause you're lookign at the gardiner does not affect ANY of these things except that it knocks a couple hundred bucks a month of the price of rent, which may put this "lifestyle" in some people's reach which might have otherwise not been.

I know people like this and the fact that I didn't move downtown to them is completely incomprehendable. They look at me like I'm crazy. Point is, the market is there, which is why they keep building.
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Read an article about this and the fact that in a few years many if these people will be getting married and having kids.......house values, 3 bedroom condo values will skyrocket .......there won't be enough for the demand.
 
Addy,

I have a question about financing, in particular what options are there for financing purchase of property and building a home on it? How much down, or up front would you typically need? Looking at a $120k plot of rural land, which would also need septic and well as there are no services to the land.

Thanks in advance,

Mike
 
Addy, I've got a question for you regarding opportunity cost. I am moving out next month and beginning to rent. Financially a terrible move but hey, we can't all live with our parents forever right?

Anyways, I've been getting a lot of flack for the whole renting vs buying thing. I know I am renting for just the moment, as I am way too young in my eyes to pick a spot to settle down for the majority of the rest of my life. I'm not certain about staying within my line of work/company for that long either (I also travel for work sometimes). Unless I've saved up a large downpayment (>30%) I don't see buying as much of a good thing because of the interest and potential mortgage insurance (if thats what its called? when you don't have a large enough downpayment). Is this a reasonable way of thinking?

Also, my dad owns two condos downtown, I believe one is paid off and the other is close to being paid off. Both are rented. However he doesn't foresee their value going up that much, and renting to a new tenant every year is just a little bit of a pain for him. I believe he wants to "move-in" to one of the condos for a year or so and then sell it (Something about saving on some form of tax?) and then use the money to invest. I remember for his previous condos he could buy them pre-con, sell them a few years later and easily make 30-100k. After that point though, it just seems like the value doesn't go up much and the profit from rent is meager, though it does pay for the mortgage mostly. Do you think there's not that much point in owning and renting a condo for that long (past when its value reaches near peak)? I feel like it's kind of like buying a stock with a 1% dividend that has shot up and stays there...you're not making that much off it anymore, why don't' you sell it and invest it in something else?
 
mgbmike said:
Addy,

I have a question about financing, in particular what options are there for financing purchase of property and building a home on it? How much down, or up front would you typically need? Looking at a $120k plot of rural land, which would also need septic and well as there are no services to the land.

Thanks in advance,

Mike
Click to expand...

Hi Mike,

Depending on the lot, your credit worthiness and the lender you choose, you will need at least 50% of the cost to acquire the lot plus cost of construction. The construction costs can be financed but its a bit harder in rural areas and needs an expert opinion.

Your best bet is to find a local architect and have a chat with them. They would be able to best guide you on what the average cost to construct in the area is. You can also chat with a mortgage broker who is experienced in acquisition and construction loans and see if there is a lender willing to work on this.

Hope this helps...

Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk
 
bboySushi said:
Addy, I've got a question for you regarding opportunity cost. I am moving out next month and beginning to rent. Financially a terrible move but hey, we can't all live with our parents forever right?

Anyways, I've been getting a lot of flack for the whole renting vs buying thing. I know I am renting for just the moment, as I am way too young in my eyes to pick a spot to settle down for the majority of the rest of my life. I'm not certain about staying within my line of work/company for that long either (I also travel for work sometimes). Unless I've saved up a large downpayment (>30%) I don't see buying as much of a good thing because of the interest and potential mortgage insurance (if thats what its called? when you don't have a large enough downpayment). Is this a reasonable way of thinking?

Also, my dad owns two condos downtown, I believe one is paid off and the other is close to being paid off. Both are rented. However he doesn't foresee their value going up that much, and renting to a new tenant every year is just a little bit of a pain for him. I believe he wants to "move-in" to one of the condos for a year or so and then sell it (Something about saving on some form of tax?) and then use the money to invest. I remember for his previous condos he could buy them pre-con, sell them a few years later and easily make 30-100k. After that point though, it just seems like the value doesn't go up much and the profit from rent is meager, though it does pay for the mortgage mostly. Do you think there's not that much point in owning and renting a condo for that long (past when its value reaches near peak)? I feel like it's kind of like buying a stock with a 1% dividend that has shot up and stays there...you're not making that much off it anymore, why don't' you sell it and invest it in something else?
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Hey... Great question!

I've not been a fan of pre-con condos since the prices started touching the 500 dollar psf and over and have been critical of them. In my opinion, investing in pre-con is NOT investing, its speculating that the market will keep going up...

There are other options such as multiplexes, plazas, commercial/office buildings where we can project return on properties based on its income. We are able to predict upon acquisition, how much money we can make on this project. I have helped a lot of buyers, first time buyers too, buy a property with 2 or more units and live in one and rent out the other units to live almost mortgage free. I've also helped clients liquidate their condos to buy large multiplexes and retire with its income.

This is a topic that requires a more detailed look at the individual situation. Thinking about an exit strategy is always a good idea. Let me know if you want to sit down and chat.

You can see some of the properties I deal with on my blog www.TorontonianOnline.com

Hope this helps...

Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk
 
bboySushi said:
I believe he wants to "move-in" to one of the condos for a year or so and then sell it (Something about saving on some form of tax?)
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Red flags are coming up on this... You better look into this a bit more carefully... I don't really want to say any more though.
 
Never got the appeal of condos...it's poor people's housing in Europe where you live on top of everyone else, smell everyone's cooking..and if you live in Manchester or Liverpool..smell everyone's piss in the elevator.
 
How long do you think this market will last? Seems like its due to burst no? I want to buy another house in the 400-500k range but a certain group of friends of mine is panicking me..

Also.. do you know Punch Sockalingam? He has the best phone number in all of real estate..

realestatenames05.jpg
 
-JERICHO- said:
How long do you think this market will last? Seems like its due to burst no? I want to buy another house in the 400-500k range but a certain group of friends of mine is panicking me..

Also.. do you know Punch Sockalingam? He has the best phone number in all of real estate..

realestatenames05.jpg
Click to expand...

I've never had dealings with "punch" but I wonder how many times he got punched...:)

Regarding the market, I'm going to be interviewing Don Campbell this weekend about his predictions for the market and will be posting it on my blog. In the meantime, here are my opinions:

The interest rates are projected to remain the same if not lower over the next two years
Due to us market firing up and oil troubles in Alberta, we will see a ramp up in manufacturing and inter provincial migration revering the effect Alberta had on Ontario.
We will see a drop in unemployment and a steady increase in affordability due to above factors

I'm projecting a steady increase in prices and a stable if not booming market for the next two years at least.

Hope this helps...
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