Here are a few recent observations:

1. One developer recently offered 5% deposits on their remaining suites, but they also raised their asking prices by as much as $20K on each suite! I was very excited about this particular offering for my clients until I discovered the massive price increase that preceded it, therefore I could not in good conscience feature it on my blog.
2. Another developer I have been dealing with is ‘capping’ closing costs at $8000 for 2 bedrooms and $7000 for 1 bedrooms – not much of a cap at all when you consider the industry average is something more like $5000 which is up from about $3000 a few years ago.
3. Finally, another developer, in my opinion, raised prices far too much between the VIP stage and the public release stage. They had huge demand for suites at the VIP stage but they shut buyers out by limiting the number of suites they released, then after they raised prices demand seemed to wane off significantly as buyers moved on to other projects.

These are just anecdotes, but in my opinion they show that the tide has turned in the condo market – we have reached a tipping point and moving forward prudent developers will recognize buyers won’t buy just anybody’s cockatoo – they need to offer value and need to be reasonable, especially with investors.

Questions or comments?  Leave a comment or email me.

MYC launched in late 2008 at the exact moment the bottom began to fall out of the Toronto condo market. It was a strange event to see hundreds of agents show up at the information session for the project and only a small handful actually bring their buyer clients to the sales centre a few days later.

After dismal sales over the first few months of release, Cresford did the unthinkable and actually lowered their prices – significantly. This boosted sales to some degree but it ultimately a legal dispute between Cresford and their business partner on this project meant that the entire project was put on ice. And after many months of being told that the project would eventually relaunch, it finally has! This time Cresford is the sole developer on the project.

The building will be the same building as before – at least the tower suites will all be the same. There may be some changes to to podium suites from what it sounds like. Prices are starting at about $520 per square foot for most suites. Prime south facing suites on higher floors will run you more like $600 PSF. 35% of the building is already sold so there are only about 120 units available for purchase.

I still like the location of this building – right at Yonge and Merton, and the design by architectsAlliance is beautiful and practical. The floor plans are pretty much all excellent. The building is meant to appeal primarily to end-users rather than investors.

Suites are being reserved starting today until Tuesday for the VIP sales period. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a unit at MYC.

Personally I am not a fan of government intervention in the markets in this way, however, I don’t think these new rules will dramatically affect the market in any significant way. It seems more than anything, the moves today are meant to send a message to Toronto condo buyers in particular that condo flipping is not cool and real estate investing is not the same thing as speculation. Flaherty even mentioned “multiple-condo markets” in his statements to the press. Hmmm…I wonder what cities he is referring to?

My thoughts on the 3 key points in the release:

• Require that all borrowers meet the standards for a five-year fixed rate mortgage even if they choose a mortgage with a lower interest rate and shorter term. This initiative will help Canadians prepare for higher interest rates in the future.

Many lenders already do this by my understanding, so no big change here – if you want a 35 year amortization variable rate mortgage, you can get it, you just have to qualify for the mortgage funds at a 25 year fixed rate mortgage.

• Lower the maximum amount Canadians can withdraw in refinancing their mortgages to 90 per cent from 95 per cent of the value of their homes. This will help ensure home ownership is a more effective way to save.

This change is so marginal that I don’t know why they did it other than to send a message that borrowing money against your home is just about always a really bad idea financially.

• Require a minimum down payment of 20 per cent for government-backed mortgage insurance on non-owner-occupied properties purchased for speculation.

This one is aimed at all those looking to buy with 5% down and flip in a year for a profit. Flaherty is looking right at you crazy capitalists and saying don’t even think about it.

For the full statement by the government of Canada after the jump. Questions or thoughts on this? I’d love to hear them – leave a comment or email me.

Government of Canada Takes Action to Strengthen Housing Financing

The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today announced a number of measured steps to support the long-term stability of Canada’s housing market and continue to encourage home ownership for Canadians.

“Canada’s housing market is healthy, stable and supported by our country’s solid economic fundamentals,” said Minister Flaherty. “However, a key lesson of the global financial crisis is that early policy action can help prevent negative trends from developing.”

The Government will therefore adjust the rules for government-backed insured mortgages as follows:

• Require that all borrowers meet the standards for a five-year fixed rate mortgage even if they choose a mortgage with a lower interest rate and shorter term. This initiative will help Canadians prepare for higher interest rates in the future.
• Lower the maximum amount Canadians can withdraw in refinancing their mortgages to 90 per cent from 95 per cent of the value of their homes. This will help ensure home ownership is a more effective way to save.
• Require a minimum down payment of 20 per cent for government-backed mortgage insurance on non-owner-occupied properties purchased for speculation.

“There’s no clear evidence of a housing bubble, but we’re taking proactive, prudent and cautious steps today to help prevent one. Our Government is acting to help prevent Canadian households from getting overextended, and acting to help prevent some lenders from facilitating it,” said Minister Flaherty. “If some lenders aren’t willing to act themselves, we will act. These measures demonstrate the Government is committed to taking action when necessary to support the long-term stability of a sector that is so vital to our economy and the financial well-being of Canadian families.”

These adjustments to the mortgage insurance guarantee framework are intended to come into force on April 19, 2010.

With the condo market heating up like it’s 2007 once again, many developers are skipping the sales office all together. Some new developments downtown are basically selling out without even advertising at all – strictly through word of mouth, database marketing,  and selling to the agent (Realtor) community.

Another trend is selling before the sales centre has been completed. Without naming any names, there are several developers who in my opinion are wasting their money constructing these elaborate sales offices and model suites only to have the entire building virtually sold out by the time the sales office is completed. This is especially true for projects that are already geared towards investors and/or that have a high % of 1 bedroom units.

Clearly the new condo market is red hot, so why are so many developers still shelling out all this money to construct these sales centres?  What about taking that money and using it on alternative marketing channels or here’s a thought: build a better quality product at a great price to differentiate yourself from the competition.  Perhaps the answer is simply that we are talking about a very staid industry that is very slow to change how they do business.

Thoughts or comments? Contact me.

Coming soon to the St Lawrence Market neighbourhood by Concert Properties: The Berczy. Yet another boutique building  designed to be both modern yet keeping in line with it’s surrounding buildings, The Berczy will no doubt be a very welcome addition to the St Lawrence area.  I am predicting prices around $575-$600 PSF for this project. London on the Esplanade is currently selling in the $550 PSF range. Concert Properties is a very active developer outside Ontario, but this is their first solo project I am aware of in Toronto.

When I meet with a buyer for the first time and ask them what neighbourhoods are highest on their wish list, inevitably the St Lawrence Market area is in the top-3. Don’t look now but the St Lawrence market area is one of the hottest and most desirable areas downtown. In some ways the area is now starting to realize the potential it has had for the last 200 years to be one of Toronto’s truly great neighbourhoods. For the better part of the last 25 years the area has been mostly perceived to be a tourist destination and as a home to several low-income and co-operative housing buildings. This perception has changed dramatically and buyers are now lining up for a chance to call this area home. With the addition of London on the Esplanade, L-Tower, Market Wharf and now the Berczy, things are certainly looking up for the St Lawrence Market.

The somewhat odd name is presumably from the name of the park which will be directly across the street from the building and directly west of the famous Flat Iron building.

For more information on The Berczy and to find out how you can buy before the public at any upcoming VIP sales events, please contact me.

Feb 9 Update: Floor plans and Pricing Available now for the VIP sales event. Contact me for more information.

Another boutique condo/loft building by Streetcar Developments is coming to Queen Street East: Sync Lofts. Contact me for info on the upcoming VIP sales event. The Riverside neighbourhood (Queen and Broadview) will be one to watch over the next 5 years. This small pocket has the real potential to become the next King and Bathurst – one of the hottest areas downtown right now. It has all the ingredients of a neighbourhood that is about to ‘pop’: furniture shops, restaurants, coffee houses, historical buildings, excellent transit, and plenty of hipsters. Riverside is good, but not great right now – there is still time to ‘get in’ before this area is fully gentrified.

The building will be 8 storeys and house 97 units. Unique selling features will include built-in iPod docking station with pre-wired speakers, and built-in wifi connectivity – hence the name ‘Sync’.

Units at Streetcar’s recently completed EDGE Lofts across the street from where Sync will be are currently selling in the resale market for approximately $500 Per Square Foot.

There will be a VIP sales opportunity for this project – contact me for more info.

Feb 9 Update: Floor plans and Pricing Available now for the VIP sales event. Contact me for more information.

King and Spadina is absolutely exploding. Not 10 years ago any self-respecting Torontonian would carefully avoid this once sketchy area.  Now this ultra hip zip code made famous by “M5V” is setting records for prices per square foot with buildings like The Hudson (438 King St) and Glas (25 Oxley) making resale buyers salivate.

Enter Bisha Hotel and Residences by Lifetime Developments (Liberty Market Lofts, X2, Victory Condos) and INK Entertainment. The combination hotel and condo will be situated at 56 Blue Jays way on the former site of the Diesel Playhouse and what was once Leoni’s restaurant for those who were around long enough to remember Leoni’s.

Charles Khabouth is the man behind INK Entertainment and is Toronto’s night club king, owning and running several venues including Guvernment and Ultra Supper Club. His vision for night life, combined with the design of Munge Leung (ICE, Murano, Ritz Carlton, FLY, etc.) and the condo building savvy of Lifetime has me very excited about the possibilities of this project.

It’s hard to describe what Bisha will be like, because there has never been anything quite like it in Toronto, but the concept for the Hotel/Residences was launched at Interior Design Show last month. The style is modern yet classic, elegance without being fussy.  Another first for the city of Toronto: Bisha will incorporate 1 floor of affordable housing in the building which will be rented out to the the hotel employees. I expect this to be a trend-setting move that will be seen more often as the city seeks to incorporate more affordable housing units and developers seek to build more units on every tract of land they own.

Sales will be launching late spring/early summer, however, once again my clients will have priority access to this project because of my excellent track record and relationship with Lifetime Developments. If you are interested in Bisha, please contact me.