Toronto Condo and Real Estate Blog

Three couples leave suburbs behind

By Carolyn Ireland - Globe and Mail

Sean and Rebecca O’Hara were taken aback when they arrived at their new house in west-end Toronto to find a neighbour had dug up their tree.

“I hope you don’t mind,” the neighbour said. He had moved it to another part of the garden to protect it from getting run over by the moving van. Then he offered to replant it in the original spot.

The O’Haras, who gave up their big house, big commute, pool and yard in suburban Caledon, Ont., for a more compact house and lifestyle in Bloor West Village, admit to being astonished by the congeniality of city neighbours compared with those they left behind.

“I thought people in the city would be more into their own thing,” says Mr. O’Hara. “It’s the very opposite to what I thought it would be.”

“You buy the lifestyle here,” says Ms. O’Hara. “This neighbourhood has a huge sense of community that we were unable to find in suburbia.”

For many real estate agents, the circumstance the O’Haras describe is becoming surprisingly familiar. They are helping find properties for families who are giving up monster homes in the suburbs for houses one-third to one-half the size in Toronto. It is amazing how similar their stories are: In each case the parents had grown weary of commuting, consuming, cleaning the pool and driving their kids to friends’ houses.

Tom Poldre and Jane Lawton moved with their two sons from Oakville, Ont., to the Baby Point neighbourhood in west-end Toronto. Both parents work in central Toronto and found the commute draining. “It was a lot of time on the GO train or sitting in the car,” says Mr. Poldre.

The two also disliked the rigid GO train schedule and the search for a parking spot at the GO station in the morning. “When I leave my office now, I’m not saying, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to get the 5 o’clock,’” says Ms. Lawton.

Mr. Poldre and Ms. Lawton also sought more heterogeneity. “We were interested in their being exposed to different cultures and perspectives,” she says of their teen-aged boys. “At both of their schools, there is a lot more diversity.” Now the family enjoys walking to dinner at El Arriero, a nearby Colombian restaurant, which offers more interesting ethnic dining than they typically found in Oakville.

The boys, Karl and Anton, haven’t complained about giving up the swimming pool — they don’t want to socialize at home anyway. And while they were worried about leaving friends behind, they now enjoy the independence of being able to walk to Bloor Street.

But Mr. Poldre and Ms. Lawton, who had lived in Hong Kong and Singapore before moving back to Canada about nine years ago, also wanted to cut back on their consumption of just about everything.

Ms. Lawton is executive director of the Toronto branch of the Jane Goodall Institute. The institute supports wildlife research and conservation, and Ms. Lawton was finding her ecological footprint increasingly hard to justify.

“We had way more space than we actually needed,” she says. “There was a lot of energy being sucked up by our family.”

The family downsized from 2,500 square feet to 1,700. Ms. Lawton recalls that for days after they learned that their offer on the new house had been accepted, she kept asking, “What have we done?”

“I was quite panicked afterwards — it was my indicator that I had stayed far too long in one place. I believe in change — that’s how you grow. That’s how your life stays interesting.”

But the family underwent a massive purge to get ready for a smaller house. “You’ve got to get rid of a lot — you’ve got to be brutal,” says Mr. Poldre. “Actually, that’s incredibly freeing,” adds Ms. Lawton. “When you’ve lived overseas and you come back to North America, it’s astonishing what people require.”

Meanwhile, the couple has received their first hydro bill, which is less than one-third of the amount of their bill in Oakville. They’re also not using up water to fill the pool or water the lawn. And Mr. Poldre points out that he’s finding all kinds of free time that used to be spent looking after the pool, grounds and driveway.

The family is also happy to live just moments away from the parks and trails that line the Humber River. “You walk down there and you just can’t believe you’re in the centre of the city,” says Ms. Lawton.

Diana Hatzepetros traded her minivan for a Jetta when she moved from Oakville to Bloor West Village with husband David Middleton and their boys, J.D., Christopher and Matt.

For Ms. Hatzepetros, the catalyst to move came when one of her sons got a job.

“I was driving from my job in Toronto back to Oakville to drive him to work,” says Ms. Hatzepetros. “It wasn’t much of a life for me.” With the boys old enough to work, the couple wanted them to be more self-sufficient. But it turns out the parents have more freedom, too.

Mr. Middleton likes the fact that he can walk to restaurants, shops and bars. They walked down to Lake Ontario to watch the air show on Labour Day weekend and made a spontaneous decision one Saturday to go to the Taste of the Danforth street festival by subway.

In the suburbs, people tend to live their lives inside their houses, Mr. Middleton has come to realize, while in the city, they go out.

While they gave up a 3,600-square-foot house and a kidney-shaped pool, their new house has a gorgeous backyard with a terraced patio backing onto a ravine.

“We don’t miss it at all,” says Mr. Middleton of the swimming pool. “It’s a money pit.” He figures the pool cost $3,000 to $4,000 a year in maintenance — and that’s not including the time he spent.

Now the boys are looking forward to skating on the outdoor hockey rink in High Park.

The family has also used www.craigslist.com to rid themselves of excess gear. “I had six extra beds that I gave away,” says Ms. Hatzepetros. The family’s five televisions start at 52 inches and work down. “The worst part was the surround-sound equipment we had, which we don’t need because you can sit in any room in the house and hear the TV,” says Ms. Hatzepetros.

The family says that some changes are not for the better. They have seen their house and car insurance rise, and they were hit with the so-called “Miller tax” on land transfers, Mr. Middleton says.

Ms. Hatzepetros is struggling without her walk-in closet, and Mr. Middleton misses the suburban garage. “Where do you put your Christmas tree?” they asked the neighbours. “You buy one every year,” was the advice.

Still, Ms. Hatzepetros, who is a teacher, finds her commute one-quarter of what it was. “Getting home is the best part. It used to take an hour. Now it takes 15 minutes whether there is traffic or not.”

Now the couple say they are working on persuading their friends to move. They keep an eye out for new real estate listings in the area.

In the O’Hara household, Ethan, Nigel and Jamie were somewhat reluctant to make the move, “but there have been lots of good connections made very quickly,” says Ms. O’Hara.

Mr. O’Hara acknowledges that he had to be talked into giving up a gorgeous 3,500-square-foot house with a pool for a smaller home with burnished wood trim and gracious rooms in Toronto.

And when the family arrived at their new house, they found they couldn’t get a gas connection for a barbeque or stove. But that seems like a minor problem, they say now.

“Along with the character comes unknowns,” says Ms. O’Hara. “We’ll put in a great kitchen and we’re good to go.”

Mr. O’Hara can already see the benefit to the teenagers. In Caledon, they used to walk a mile down a busy highway to catch a bus to Brampton, he said. Now they can hop on the subway and head downtown.

“They feel freedom and we feel just as much freedom with that,” she says.

After four years, the novelty of having a backyard swimming pool had worn off. Ms. Brown says she has seen a lot of families grow out of their pools as kids get older.

“They get to a stage where they have so many options of things they can do,” she says.

The O’Haras find their commute to work easier because they’re heading against the traffic. They may sell a second car. And the couple believes they have made a sound investment in real estate.

Still, they acknowledge that the transformation wouldn’t be for everyone.

“Other people think we’re having a midlife crisis,” Ms. O’Hara laughs.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

It seems it’s the developers - not buyers - who are gung-ho on green

By Terrence Belford - Globe and Mail

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story The Rich Boy, the narrator says the rich “are different from you and me.” Judging by the statistics, those differences are starkly outlined when it comes to embracing environmental concerns in new luxury condos.

“Green” may be great for mid-market buyers but not for the Greater Toronto Area’s affluent.

Urbanation Inc., which tracks LEED statistics, says that at the end of July, there were 36 buildings — 24 of them currently under construction — registered under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program. Two major developers — Tridel and Minto — have pledged to construct all future projects according to LEED guidelines.

At the same time, Urbanation says 13 luxury projects were on sale. (It defines luxury as anything selling for more than $600 a square foot.) Jane Renwick, Urbanation’s executive vice-president, says two of them — 77 Charles West and the St. Thomas — are being built to LEED standards, while a third, the Huntington, will likely follow suit.

“We get our statistics from the Canadian Green Building Council and it lists those two for certain as LEED-registered. The Huntington … is from Tridel, which has pledged to do all its buildings under LEED,” she says, but the council had not notified her of it being registered at the time of the interview.

So, those facts and figures raise a few questions, such as: What is actually happening with green condos? How come the most expensive ones, which could easily afford the extra cost of building to LEED standards, are not doing it?

The answers may be surprising to some. First, it is developers driving the move to LEED and not any sort of buyer demand, industry experts say. Second, the leaders in the industry seem to be family owned companies in which the younger generation is now taking over the reins.

“For many in the housing industry, green is an issue whose time has come,” says Sam Crignano, a partner in Cityzen Development Group, which currently has both Pier 27 and the Shores in Oakville on the go. “There is greater awareness of the need to go green, especially among the younger generation; it is an issue they believe in personally.

“Buyers are not willing to pay more for it, but many developers are taking the initiative anyway. They are backing their beliefs with their money. In most cases, the technology is still in almost the experimental stage. But I do think that eventually it will be legislated as the standard for all new construction.”

As for luxury projects: The buyers tend to be men and women in their 50s or older and environmental concerns are not on their list of priorities. In addition, things like Energy Star-rated appliances, which consume about 40 per cent less energy, are simply not available in the high-end, large-sized models those buyers want in their new homes.

“The environment does not seem to be a priority for luxury suite buyers,” says Mark Cohen, senior vice-president at Condo Store Marketing Systems Inc.

“Where in mid-range buildings, buyers are deeply concerned about the impact of rising energy costs and as a result want Energy Star appliances and structural and mechanical systems that ensure energy efficiency, the high-end market doesn’t pay much attention to monthly maintenance fees,” Mr. Cohen says.

“Green is just not on the radar for most of them.”

High-end buyers want what they want, adds Veronika Belovich, director of sales and marketing at Bazis International Inc., developer of 1 Bloor, Emerald Park at Yonge and Sheppard, and the soon-to-be-launched Exhibit on Bloor Street, west of Avenue Road.

“They want gas ranges and large refrigerators,” she says. “Manufacturers do not make Energy Star models beyond 36 inches. They also want rare woods for flooring and non-renewable stones for flooring and countertops.

“This is their dream home and they want what they want.”

That being said, there is still great hope that green features and building practices will be the norm in all buildings in the future, says Andrea Kantelberg. Her company, Kantelberg Design Inc., not only specializes in interior design that is environmentally sensitive and health-enhancing but offers its own line of paints, wall coverings, flooring, carpeting, cabinetry and fabrics — all part of what it calls the AK Ecollection.

You can see her work at 1 Bloor, the U Condominiums on the grounds of St. Michael’s College, and the new Queen and Portland project.

“LEED is just a starting point,” she says. “In reality, it just builds on Ontario building codes. The next step is to create health-conscious buildings and suites. That means no more materials that off-gas; no more materials that don’t come from sustainable sources.

“LEED addresses cost savings; what we do builds on that and addresses all those health issues [raised] by today’s building materials. Health issues are fast rising on everyone’s priority list. It just makes sense that once LEED is entrenched, the focus will shift to healthy design.”

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

As the market adjusts to new realities, here are the areas buyers should be looking at

By Gay Abbate - Globe and Mail

With home sales cooling, prices moderating and a healthy housing inventory, market realities not seen recently will shape buyers’ decisions over the next 12 months.

Whether you are looking for a condo, a luxury home, a house in the mid-price range or a recreational property with the potential to become a permanent residence, there are certain areas that will hold their value in recessionary times.

So, where should the smart money go? Which areas represent the best return for your money? Where will your investment provide the best quality of life?

Condo properties

Those for whom money is not an issue can buy a condo anywhere they choose.

But if finances are a key factor, two developing areas that are not yet gentrified and will prove a good investment.

One is the Riverside/Leslieville community, which is the hottest area in the city, with prices one-fifth to one-quarter of those for condos in the Waterfront, St. Lawrence Market and King Street West neighbourhoods.

The area from River Street east to Leslie Street, between Queen and Dundas streets, is extremely vibrant, with buildings being bought up and renovated.

Within this sector, Leslie and Broadview and Carlaw avenues would be great streets on which to buy.

Condo prices there are in the $200,000 to $400,000 range, although some can be found for as little as $180,000.

The West Donlands, between Parliament and River streets, south of Queen down to the Gardiner Expressway, is another up-and-coming area that offers good value. Condos there will sell for $400 to $450 a square foot.

Within the next two years, prices of condos along the Queen strip from Leslie to Dufferin Street will be all in sync at $500 to $600 a square foot.

Sections of Richmond, Adelaide and Kings streets between Parliament and Sherbourne will also become a great places to live. Prices, however, are slightly higher than in the Leslieville neighbourhood because land closer to Yonge Street is more expensive.

The Toronto condo market is more stable than last year, and there are great values to be had by looking in the right places.

Luxury house market

Lifestyle, rising energy costs and ever-increasing commuting times make living in the downtown core more desirable for those with more than $1-million to spend.

Hazelton, Lowther and Elgin avenues in Yorkville will continue to be choice investment areas. In those areas, in the long term, the location is stellar and the quantity of supply is limited.

Townhouses in Yorkville are historically protected and especially attractive to those who love the location but want a backyard, and therefore aren’t interested in living in one of the new luxury condos being developed in the neighbourhood. Buyers are attracted to these streets because of their proximity to the exclusive Bloor Street/Bay Street/Avenue Road retail district. Houses with parking start at $1.5-million, but $3-million is a more realistic price.

South Rosedale’s Chestnut Park and Cluny Avenue are attractive streets because of their proximity to Yonge and the subway, he notes. The average house price is $2-million.

House buyers should also cast their eyes to Warren, Dunvegan and Old Forest Hill roads, where the average price is $5-million. That gets you a large lot, tree-lined street and some of the city’s most influential families for neighbours. Some people are snapping up two lots on these streets and turning them into single properties, thus reducing the number of houses that could potentially come on the market.

The luxury market is expected to remain very stable, and buying in these areas will become more desirable and a good investment.

Mid-price properties

Buyers looking for houses priced between $500,000 and $800,000 should consider parts of the Davisville, Leaside and East York neighbourhoods. The market in those areas is healthy, while schools and amenities are excellent, he says. Little is available in these areas for under $500,000, but there are good properties in the $500,000 to $700,000 range.

Manor Road, Hillsdale Avenue and any street off Bessborough Drive in the Davisville community offer good value.

In Leaside, houses on Thursfield Crescent, Vanderhoof Avenue and Donlea Drive are excellent buys because the streets are safe and the area has great schools. Some detached starter homes on Thursfield begin at $550,000. Detached houses go for $800,000 to $900,000.

In East York, there are good neighbourhoods at Pape Avenue and O’Connor Drive and at St. Clair Avenue and O’Connor. They have nice housing stock, good communities and are affordable and safe. Prices range from $450,000 to $800,000.

Another part of the city that offers excellent value is north and south of Danforth Avenue between Broadview and Coxwell avenues. You can expect to spend between $400,000 and $600,000.

In Etobicoke, homes on streets south of Lake Shore Boulevard West offer excellent value for $500,000 to $700,000.

Semi-detached houses have been more affected by the slowdown in the real estate market, some by as much as 10%, which makes them a wise investment.

Recreational properties

Recreational properties are selling at affordable prices outside of the usual cottage areas, such as Muskoka, which is out of reach for most people. Prince Edward County has waterfront lots for as little as $180,000 and as much as $1-million. Prices are still reasonable because the island has not gotten the attention other areas have received.

Waterfront properties with non-winterized cottages on Lake Consecon and Roblin Lake sell for about $200,000. If you have significantly more to spend, South Bay, Green Point Road and Glenora Road are choice communities in which to live.

Those interested in farmland can purchase about 75 acres with a farmhouse and barn for $350,000 plus.

Towns such as Picton combine country life with big-city amenities such as theatres, shops and restaurants. It has the large historical homes - full of character and architectural details - that rich merchants built, and that are now in high demand, he says. Prices in Picton are in the $250,000 to $300,000 range, although there are more expensive properties.

Other areas to consider are Port Hope, Cobourg and Niagara-on-the Lake, although they are pricier than Prince Edward County.

The market for recreational properties is slower than last year, and the inventory is limited while the demand is high. But there are still good buys that will only increase in value.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960