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Temperature Check: Bathurst and Lake Shore Edition

This is the second installment in this new series whereby I am attempting to give my readers a street-level, in the trenches sort of perspective of what the condo market is actually like. “Temperature Check” will help show what it’s like to be a seller in the current market and what you can expect if you sell your property now. I’m sharing with my readers some stats that no one else in the market is sharing.

Last week I listed a unit at one of the well-known buildings located at Bathurst and Lake Shore. It was a 1+den with parking and locker on a medium-height floor facing north/north-west. Here is the activity the listing received:

• On the market for 2 days
• Approximately 20 Realtor showings booked
• 2 email inquiries from buyers who saw the listing on the internet
• 1 bully offer received, which started a bidding war with 4 offers total
• End result: Sold for 5% above the asking price

Interpretation:

The results of this were better than I was expecting, buildings in this area typically are not known for their ability to attract bidding wars, and the sheer volume of activity on the listing in just 48 hours was indicative of a very hot market. We were planning on holding off on offers until about a week after the property was on the market, but we received a bully offer after just 2 days on the market so I had to jump into action, calling and emailing every agent who had booked a showing on the property to let them know the situation. 3 other agents responded and also brought offers to the table, which was surprising to some degree but great news for my seller. It needs to be noted that we did not price the property low to attract a bidding war.

My key takeaway from this is that finding a 1 bedroom and den with parking and locker for around $300K downtown these days is very rare, and buyers that have been priced out of ‘downtown proper’ are now looking to areas like Bathurst and Lakeshore, Liberty Village etc. as the next best thing. Of course it goes without saying that a prerequisite for success like this is understanding how to prepare your condo for sale, and to position it properly in all your marketing efforts to generate maximum activity and results.

If you are thinking about selling in 2011, I don’t see things getting any better for sellers than they are right now. Questions or comments? Please contact me.

Jane’s Walk: Great Way to Discover the New Regent Park

Jane’s Walk is happening this weekend and it is a great chance to get to know the new Regent Park neighbourhood. If you are thinking about purchasing a unit at Paintbox Condos when they launch this year, and you are not familiar with the Regent Park revitalization, I highly recommend you check out this great, free event.

Jane’s Walk is named after the noted urban planner/thinker/author Jane Jacobs and celebrates her ideas on urban life and urban development through the simple act of walking through a neighbourhood and getting to know your neighbours. Started in Toronto in 2007, amazingly this event now takes place in over 70 cities worldwide!

Walking tours of the Regent Park neighbourhood will be leaving every 15 minutes starting at 11:00am tomorrow at the Daniels Sales office (on Dundas, just east of Parliament). Tours will last about 1.5 hours. Tour highlights include:

Regarnt Park Presentation Centre, One Cole Condominium, The new ‘Big Park” and Aquatic Centre, The Peace Garden, The new Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre, 14 Blevins Place/Nelson Mandela Public School, Children and Youth Hub and Regent Park Focus.

There are dozens of walking tours going on all over the city this weekend. For investors wanting to do due diligence on a neighbourhood before investing, what a goldmine of an opportunity! Looking through the Toronto list, here are some other walks available that sound interesting:

• Making Cityplace a Place, walk led by councillor Adam Vaughan
• A Hipster’s Guide to Ossington
• Discover the Toronto Islands
• East Bay Front Walk

For more details on investment opportunities in the new Regent Park, please contact me.

Temperature Check: Yonge and Eglinton Edition

Listings are a great way to check the temperature of the market. In a perpetual seller’s market like we have in Toronto, tracking the amount of ‘activity’ on a listing can be a powerful tool to get an overall ‘temperature’ of the market. In a red hot market you will get a lot of activity on a listing in the first 2 weeks. In a cold market, the amount of activity can drop of substantially.

“Temperature Check” is a new feature on the blog where I will share with my readers (most of whom are buyers and investors) what it’s like on the other side of the fence. That is, what it’s like to be a seller in the current market and what you can expect if you sell your property now.

I recently listed and sold a 2 bedroom condo townhouse at a popular complex located near Yonge and Eglinton. Here’s what activity the listing received:

• On the market for 7 days
• Approximately 22 Realtor showings booked
• Approximately 24 visitors to the one-day only open house
• Approximately 8 email inquiries from buyers who saw the listing on the Internet
• 2 offers
• End Result: property sold for 1.4% over the asking price

Interpretation:

I would say that the numbers were in line with what I was expecting for a listing like this in the current market. The property was priced for a quick sale, but not necessarily for a bidding war, therefore I was not surprised that it sold within 1% of asking price. I would say that based on this listing there is still a lot of heat in the market, with very low inventory for buyers to choose from (especially quality inventory). However, I would not say that things are at a boiling point.

Another interesting comment I received from more than one Realtor who had showed the property was that their clients were interested in the property but they were not interested in getting into a bidding war. Buyer fatigue is high this time of year as those who have been shopping since February or March have likely been in multiple bidding wars and are highly reluctant to enter into more.

I hope you enjoy this new blog feature. I plan on including more of these in the future. Questions or comments? Contact me.

Time to get Creative

The market is hot. Sellers are still driving the bus in this market and so when I’m working with buyers I often have to get very creative to get my clients what they are looking for. After viewing 6-8 condos with my buyer clients, I can usually figure out exactly what condo would be perfect for my buyer client. But what if this condo is not for sale? How do you buy a property that is not for sale?

I’ve been working with one buyer downtown for the past few months. Let’s call him MJ. MJ owns a condo townhouse near Yonge and Eglinton that has appreciated significantly since he bought it and he’s looking to sell and move downtown. After seeing several units in different buildings and in different areas, MJ narrowed it down to 2-3 buildings he liked and was looking for a 2 bedroom unit up to around the mid $500s. Problem was, there was nothing available for sale. We waited. We waited some more. Nothing was coming up in these buildings. Frustration was starting to set in. Time to get creative.

Some agents will solicit listings by  flyering or directly sending letters to specific units in specific buildings. The message being, “I have a buyer who will buy your condo for top dollar!”. I suspect this approach is not very effective as it inherently reeks of ‘spam’ mail. I decided to take a different approach.

There just so happened to be a unit FOR LEASE in the exact building that MJ was very keen on, and this unit’s floor plan was one he had seen before and liked it. I called up the listing agent for this unit that was for lease and asked if the seller had any interest in selling instead of leasing it. He said unlikely since he just bought the unit last year. I let him know MJ was a serious buyer, and low and behold after a few phone calls back and forth, we submitted an offer in writing and that offer was accepted! MJ was thrilled that he found a great condo in a great building and he did not have to go through the pain of a bidding war to get it! He’s now getting his townhouse at Yonge and Eglinton ready for sale.

Thinking of buying or selling a condo this spring? I’d love to help you achieve your real estate goals. Contact me to discuss.

Regent Park Revitalization Plan

I had the opportunity last week to attend a special luncheon event for the Regent Park Platinum Producers Club (agents who have special insider access to all the upcoming Regent Park condos including Paintbox). They outlined some of the details for the much anticipated project Paintbox Condos, and they also filled us in on the progress of the entire Regent Park Revitalization plan.

I find the above graphic very useful in explaining to first time buyers and investors about what exactly is happening in Regent Park today and over the next several years. [Click on the graphic for the full size image]. Highlights of the new Regent Park will include a massive Aquatic Centre, 6-acre park, pedestrian mews and the Arts and Cultural Centre.

You can quickly get a sense of the scale of the project, as well as in what order things are going to be constructed. Phase 1 is WELL underway with One Cole finished, Sobey’s/Rogers/Tim Horton’s/RBC are all open for business, and One Park West will be completed this summer. Phase 2 is where the real action begins and Paintbox will be right in the heart of it. The two things that will potentially be real ‘game changers’ for Regent Park will be located here:

1. Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre. This building has millions in federal funding behind it and sounds like it will be incredible. This will be a building for TORONTO, not just Regent Park. Key events will happen here. Movers and shakers will spend time here. This could be HUGE for this neighbourhood.
2. Pedestrian Mews. This will be a European-style urban park/walking area that will be landscaped and apparently will have cafes, shops, restaurants attached to it. This will be a car-free zone. Think about the Distillery District feel and how much people love spending time there. On a smaller scale, that is exactly what they are aiming to have in the heart of Regent Park. Very exciting!

If you are interested in investing or living in the new Regent Park, please contact me.

Sell the Condo, Buy a House

Tell me if this sounds familiar: get out of school, get your first ‘real’ job, work for a couple years, save your money, buy a small condo. Meet someone, someone moves in. Condo starts to feel smaller. Buy a car. Realize that cars are freakin’ expensive! Have a kid, condo feels even smaller. Realize kids are freakin’ expensive! Realize that you’ve outgrown your condo, so you sell the condo, buy a house in a hip neighbourhood (Leslieville, Little Italy, Bloor West, Riverdale, Beaches etc) and live happily ever after.

As clichéd as it sounds, this is a pretty common pattern for many young professionals, artists, entrepreneurs, health workers, and ‘professional students’ in this city. As much as we all love condo living (especially downtown), the reality for most is when the family unit of 1 turns into 2 or even 3, suddenly 642 square feet just ain’t gonna cut it! It’s time to move.

Selling your first property can be a daunting and stressful task (more on this in a future post). Buying a house when you are used to condo living is a little like learning to drive standard when you’ve only ever driven automatic – it’s hard to know where to begin and feels a little strange at first.

Selling your first condo and buying your first house for most people is a major step, and I love being able to walk my clients through the process and help them meet their goals along the way. In fact, helping people who are making these sorts of BIG life moves is probably the most rewarding part of my job and what gets me out of bed each morning. I love meeting new people and helping them reach their goals!

If 2011 is looking like the year your condo finally feels too small and you are thinking about making an upgrade to a house in the city or possibly just a larger condo, let’s talk.

First Impressions: Residences of the Ritz Carlton

Today I had opportunity to perform the PDI (pre-delivery inspection) on behalf of an overseas client who purchased at The Residences of The Ritz Carlton. The building is the first of what I call the “Big-4″ to be undergoing occupancy in the downtown core. The Big-4 are the 4 condo/hotels backed by major international luxury brands: Ritz Carlton, Shangri-La, Trump, and the Four Seasons.

These projects are in a class all their own with all suites in the $1000+ per square foot range. When the Ritz Carlton first launched back in 2005, $1000 PSF was a sort of Manhattan-esque fantasy and most never thought we would get to this point so fast. The truth is, suites at the Ritz are now selling in the $1100+ PSF range, as nearby buildings without an internationally renowned luxury brand behind them are selling for as much as $900PSF.

Impressions on the building itself: from the exterior, the podium makes a striking statement on Wellington Street with its unique cantilevered design. Although still very much unfinished, the lobby areas of both the hotel and the residences area (separate entrances) make you instantly aware you are not in a ‘just another downtown condo’ or ‘just another downtown hotel’. The attention to detail and craftsmanship is evident on every surface. Not much else to say at this point as the work crews are still very much hard at work putting the finishing touches on the common areas of the building. The hotel is slated to open next month! The first 3 or 4 floors of the residences have started occupying, and the penthouse levels are scheduled to start occupying by April.

Impressions of the suite: best description I can come up with of the sprawling 1 bedroom suite is ‘grand Parisian apartment from the past, with all the modern conveniences of today’. Cheesy I know, but there is nothing really to compare it directly with in Toronto. The suite was in excellent condition overall and the list of deficiencies was rather short when we were finished the inspection. Some of the standout features that really make the suite a true ‘luxury’ property include:

• 10′ smooth ceilings with crown moldings
• Herringbone patterned walnut hardwood floors
• Top quality granite and marble throughout the bathrooms and kitchen
• Solid wood cabinetry (no MDF here!) in Kitchen and baths
• Sub-zero, Wolf, and Miele Integrated appliances (ever priced out a Sub-Zero or Wolf appliance?)
• Extra tall, solid-core doors with high-end hardware)
• High end fixtures (faucets, toilets, sinks, shower heads) in the Bath and Kitchen
• Large walk-in closet with built-in organizer system in master
• Gas Fireplace with concrete-cast surround

I won’t post any photos at this time as the building and suite are still in a state of construction/finishing so to do so would sell this property short. (This suite will likely be available for sale in the near future so we wouldn’t want to do that!) If you have any questions about the Residences of the Ritz Carlton, please contact me.

If you have purchased a condo in Toronto that is coming up for occupancy in 2011 but you are not located in Toronto and are wondering what your options are for performing the PDI and taking occupancy, please contact me.

Ken’s Condo

Last year a client of mine – Kenneth Friesen – purchased a great 1 bedroom and den unit at Tip Top Lofts. He hired designer Jewel Weeks to furnish and decorate it for him.  Kenneth is a very interesting guy and he gave her full creative freedom to do with it as she wanted. The results speak for themselves and the loft is currently featured in a 6-page spread in the September issue of Style at Home magazine.

Check it out in the September issue due out any day now and congrats to Jewel and Kenneth for the feature. I have posted a few more pics after the jump.

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Client Service Is For Clients

Using a buyer’s agent is not for everyone. Even though I constantly preach on this blog that having a buyer’s agent is absolutely necessary I recognize that not everyone agrees with me. Some buyers prefer to go directly through a seller’s agent, or in the case of new construction-directly through the developer. Everyone has their reasons for doing so, and that’s fine, but what I don’t understand is why some buyers feel they can have their cake and eat it too!

Quite routinely I get emails from buyers who have elected to ‘go it alone’ and buy condos directly from developer. They usually go something like this:

Hi! I really like your blog and what you have to say about the condo market. I just bought a condo at “XX” development but I don’t know if I made the right decision. Did I pay too much? Is this a good area? Are other projects better? Help!

So essentially they don’t want to hire me as their agent (at zero cost to them), but they want my expert advice and opinion on whether they made the right decision! Even better is when the buyer tells me they have their own agent, but yet they don’t care what they say, they want to know what I think!

I’ve been writing this blog about downtown condos for over 3 years now. I’m flattered that many people value what I have to say, but my client services including my advice, opinions, analysis, and access to the best developments in the city are for my clients only. Hiring me as your buyer’s agent will cost you nothing. Not hiring me as your buyer’s agent could cost you thousands.

Questions or comments? Think I’m being an arrogant jerk? Contact me or leave your feedback in the comments section.

My Response to Haiti

Like most Canadians, I have been watching the news and updates surrounding the earthquake in Haiti with a sense of shock and sadness. The images and scenes are horrific and overwhelming. And like most Canadians, I feel like it is my responsibility to do something to help.

The immediate needs are obvious: people need food, shelter and water desperately. I have faith in the International Community to provide for these basic needs in the weeks to come. But when the dust settles and all the bodies are buried, Haiti will need to literally rebuild itself. This will take years and probably hundreds of  millions of dollars.

This is why I have decided that for the next 30 days, for every client of mine who buys or sells a property, I will donate $1 for every $1000 spent to a charity of their choice to help the relief efforts in Haiti. For example, a purchase/sale of a $300,000 condo will mean a $300 donation. The charity must be directly involved on the ground with the relief work that is happening in Haiti. And to be clear, the donation will be made in the name of the buyer/seller – so there is no financial benefit for me personally.

I realize this will be more of a gesture of good will than any major significant contribution to the cause, but I feel like I have to do something more than just give personally, and I see an opportunity here for my business (helping people buy and sell real estate) to do some good.

And just a thought to all the Toronto Realtors out there who are reading this blog: if you want to join with me and do the same with your clients, I think that would be great. With a little momentum, we could start to make a significant difference. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Update 1: 24 Hours after posting this I am happy to announce that 3 other Realtors have joined in the cause. Katy Galica of Re/Max Condos Plus, Kenny Shim of Re/Max Condos Plus, and Mark Savel of Re/Max Realtron.

Update 2: I’ve joined the Toronto Works For Haiti team. Toronto Works for Haiti is a collective of Toronto area small business owners who are offering services in exchange for donations to the relief efforts in Haiti. It’s all about raising money and awareness for Haiti so I am all for pooling resources and joining this group.

I would like to highlight one organization’s efforts in Haiti: Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat’s early response to the earthquake is threefold:

• Cleanup
  To clear the way for home repair and construction, Habitat will assist in the cleanup by mobilizing people to remove debris and salvage materials that can be recycled in new shelter.
• Shelter kits
  Shelter kits include building materials and tools and are designed to help families and neighborhoods make immediate repairs to damaged homes. The kits typically include items such as wall panels, roofing sheets, hurricane straps and a hammer and nails. Habitat also has a cadre of certified masons and carpenters to assist families with immediate repairs.
• Transitional shelter
  Small transitional shelters can be built quickly and provide permanent base structures that can be expanded over time. The shelters will meet humanitarian standards of adequate living space and provision of water and sanitation. The structures will also be designed with hurricane- and earthquake-resistant features

Other organizations who were very active in Haiti before the earthquake and will be there for years to come include:

• World Vision
• Red Cross
• Oxfam
• Doctors without Borders (MSF)

Consider giving to one or more of these organizations if you have not already.