Tag Archives: low rise
In Toronto, “Low Rise” Vs. “High Rise” Living? About $194,000
David George-Cosh – Wall Street Journal
The dream of owning a new home with a yard and white picket fence is fading for many in Toronto, thanks to a widening price gap between houses and condos.
The price gap between buying a new “low-rise” home versus a new “high-rise” home has widened to about $194,000, from about $75,000 back in 2011, according to George Carras, president of Realnet Canada Inc., a Canadian real estate research firm.
Comment: And people wonder why condos are so popular… not always because people prefer them, but they are the only home they can afford.
A low-rise home is defined by Realnet as a newly built detached, semi-detached home or town house. A high-rise home is an apartment condominium, loft or stacked townhouse.
In April, the cost to buy a new low-rise home in Canada’s biggest city was $627,933, up 6% from the same month last year, while the price of a new high-rise home was relatively unchanged at $433,132, according to a report by Realnet.
There are also less low-rise homes being built, as Toronto policymakers have decided that the best way to handle an expanding population in North America’s fourth-largest city is from the condo market rather than new houses, Mr. Carras said.
“Toronto’s housing market is getting taller, smaller and more expensive,” he says.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
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Real-estate cheat sheet
The housing market in 2012 was hot, then cold
In the first half of 2012, Toronto homebuyers faced rapidly escalating prices, bidding wars and “phantom bids.” In the second half of the year, the market cooled, in part due to the stricter mortgage rules that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty imposed in June. What did 2012 as a whole mean for current and aspiring homeowners? Below, we look at the end of year resale stats from the Toronto Real Estate Board, and break down the important numbers.
Comment: No one ever proved there were phantom bids. They were a construct of the imagination of the people who lost bidding wars. Not, it was not their fault for not going high enough, it was because everyone else was cheating and was out to get them with fake bids. But at least one media outlet admitted
• More Torontonians stayed put: The total number of sales in 2012 was 85,731, which, although reasonably high from a historic perspective, was still 3.8% less than 2011’s 89,096 transactions. The first half of 2012 was much more active than the year before, but couldn’t make up for the significant slowing in the second half of the year.
Comment: Frightening in a way… even with the new mortgage rules in the middle of the year and sales volume falling 12–21% in the months following, we still fell only 3.8% shy of 2011′s sales total.
• Prices were still up: The average selling price for 2012 was $497,298, almost 7% higher than in 2011. That said, average prices can be misleading since they can be skewed by one segment of the market, such as when there’s a decline in the volume of sales for lower-priced homes.
Comment: And yet sales of $1 million houses fell after the new mortgage rules, which should have skewed the average price down. But it didn’t, prices still rose. Nice try to spin the data, though, to make it look like it was a worse result than it was.
• Low-rise homes continued to dominate: The prices of low-rise homes – a category that includes semis, townhouses and, of course, highly-coveted detached homes – saw the strongest growth.
Comment: Which is what fueled most of the price growth.
• The condo market is getting dicier: As for the condo market, the slow-down that started earlier in the year got worse in December, with a sales volume drop of almost 27%. The average price of a condo in Toronto proper fell 1.8%.
Comment: The huge drop in sales was for the month of December only. Looking at condos year-over year, 2012 dropped to 19,676 sales from 22,302 in 2011 – 13.3% to be sure, but not the drastic 27% the media would have you believe. Prices rose from $331,345 in 2011 to $336,522 in 2012 – only 1.6%, but a rise nonetheless.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416−388−1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
—————————————————————————————————–
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New in Toronto real estate: Origami Lofts
Robyn Urback – blogTO
Origami Lofts is a condo development inspired — I think — by little paper cranes. Or, to borrow directly from marketing-speak, it is a “beautiful series of angular folds and sleek cutouts that hide and reveal, soothe and provoke.” I’m not entirely sure how a building serves to “soothe and provoke,” but I think I’ll leave that statement unexamined. A Symmetry project at Bathurst and Queen, Origami will be modest in height, ostentatious with angles, and is already being snatched up by buyers. Maybe low-rise is the way to go? Here’s a closer look at Origami.
SPECS
Address: 202 Bathurst Street
Exterior: Glass, metal cladding
Number of floors: 7
Total number of units: 23 (incl. four 2-storey penthouses)
Type of units: Studio, one-bedroom + den, two-bedroom + den
Unit sizes: 387 – 983 square feet
Ceiling height: 9 feet
Prices from: $229,900
Parking: $35,000
Maintenance: $0.50/sf
Locker: $4,000
Architect: Teeple Architects
Interior design: DK Studio
Expected occupancy: November 2014
THE GOOD
Let the sardines live in their 34th floor, seventh unit, 500-square foot income-drains. With just 23 units, Origami offers a bit of exclusivity in a market saturated with homogenous, cookie-cutter condos. Yeah, I’m taking about you guys. While there are some drawbacks to living in a smaller building (few amenities, most notably), I’d say the benefits far outweigh the limitations. There’s less wear and tear on common spaces and elements, for one, plus greater familiarity with neighbours, better cohesion when something goes wrong, and (generally speaking) less noise. Personally, I’m glad to see that Bathurst and Queen will not be taken over by some giant mega-structure (like some other forlorn intersections we all know) and that developers here have opted for a little architectural ingenuity. Origami looks like it will complement the area without overpowering it.
And speaking of the area, the stretch of Bathurst north of Queen has the good fortune of being just at the cusp of some serious upgrades. Or at the very least, it certainly looks that way. For now, there are a still a few vacant and boarded-up retail spaces nearby, but the west side does have a relatively new Starbucks in its corner (sorry Starbucks-haters, but that’s a good thing if you’re investing in real estate) and a couple new shops that might add to its edge. For now, would-be Origami residents can get in somewhere around $600-$650 per square foot range, which isn’t an outstanding deal, but not a half-bad price either. In fact, it’s probably right where it should be for a condo by two streetcar lines and near endless cafes, shops, and restaurants, but with an immediate vicinity that could use a touch of work.
THE BAD
In an ideal condo-living world, you’d be able to have a concierge/front door security and as few as 23 units in your building. Unfortunately, this is real life (someone should tell Donald Trump) and a person at the door is far too expensive for a building with so few suites. So I understand why Origami is without concierge, but it doesn’t change the fact that Queen and Bathurst can sometimes get quite… animated. And before I’m accosted with accusations of “spoiled little suburban girl” (which is untrue — I’m not little), let me just say that I realize that there are plenty of other residences in the area without anyone guarding the entrance. And that’s fine, both for living and renting. But when it’s time to appraise the value of a condo unit for purchase, security issues — either real or perceived — can certainly affect your overall bottom line. Especially when it comes time for resale; something to keep in mind as an inevitable drawback of purchasing in a low-rise.
Can I ask a serious question? What ever happened to the double-bowl inset sink? Did all of Toronto’s developers get together about five years ago and decide that two basins was a needless frivolity? If so, I’d like to invite them over to do my dishes after cooking for more than two guests. While I must say that the majority of Origami’s suites do look pretty fine — many with plenty of windows, interesting angles, some with semi-ensuite bathrooms and multiple closets — the kitchens, as is often the case, are lacking. These “appliance walls” as I prefer to call them, typically offer little by way of pantry or other cupboard space, never mind counters that would be overwhelmed by the presence of a simple coffeemaker, and the aforementioned sorry single-bowl sinks. What’s a buyer gotta do for a little counter space? (Ante-up for customization, I know.)
THE VERDICT
It is good looking. Invest in a heavy-duty bike lock.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
—————————————————————————————————–
Incoming search terms
Related posts:
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