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Spectra Condos: VIP Sales on Now

Coming soon from Concord Adex: Spectra Condos. VIP sales are on now. Contact me for details and VIP incentives for buyers.

Spectra is the latest tower to be released in the master-planned Cityplace community. This one is essentially phase 2 of the Quartz development which was launched back in February of this year. The two towers will feature staggered podium and towers so that they do not completely block each other’s view. This is a major advantage to buying into a master-planned community like Cityplace – the views are generally protected and predictable moving forward versus buying in most areas downtown you never quite know what will be blocking your view in the future.

While the area has had some negative press over the years, pricing remains one of the biggest selling features of the Cityplace development. Spectra is no exception with pricing starting at at just $500 per square foot. Also, the amenity space in the Cityplace towers are generally second to none in terms of scope and scale. Spectra and Quartz will share some amenities like a pool, thus defraying the cost of maintenance significantly by making it across two very large buildings with hundreds of suites each.

For more details including pricing and floor plans for Spectra, please contact me.

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Spectra Condos

VIP Sales for this condo are on NOW. Contact me for more information.

From the builder:

Explore the potential of redefining your aura. The possibility of energy as defined with colours. The continuum of life on your own personal bandwidth. This is Spectra.

Spectra is a new condominium. A residential landmark that offers a prolific metrospective of what life could be and will be in Concord Cityplace, one of Toronto’s most cosmopolitan urban neighbourhoods.

Spectra soars upwards. Thirty-nine ravishing storeys. A tower. A podium. Townhouses. Crisp, contemporary architectural design. Angular. Prismatic. Intelligent. Vistas that encompass the cityscape and lakescape. Amenities that are nothing less than sybaritic. Passion that ignites the colours of your life.

Explore the potential of Spectra. A new spectrum in living.

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Myth Busters: Maintenance Fees Edition

In this episode of Myth Busters, we’ll tackle the “Maintenance Fee Myth”.

When I meet with first time buyers, there are certain things that I hear almost every time when I ask them, “What are you looking for?” The most common responses are usually

1. Newer building in a great location
2. Lots of light / Big windows
3. Low price per square foot
4. Low maintenance fees

The add-on to the maintenance comment is very often, “I wouldn’t mind living in a building with less amenities because that will mean lower maintenance fees”. When I hear this, little orange flags start going off in my mind as it’s time to bust up another condo myth.

There is a pervasive belief that if you buy at a building with little or no amenities, you will pay significantly less maintenance fees compared to a building that has a pool, sauna, gym, bowling alley, roof top terrace etc. This is simply not true. Maintenance fees at most condo buildings in Toronto, whether they are loaded with amenities or have none at all, tend to settle around 50-60 cents per square foot.

For example, let’s take a look at a couple of listings out on the market today*,

Category 1 – Full Amenities: Pool, gym, party room, 24 hour concierge

• 80 Western Battery Road (Vibe Condos in Liberty Village) – ~55 cents PSF (Hydro NOT included)
• 35 Mariner Terrace (Cityplace) – ~55 cents PSF (Heat and Hydro included)

Category 2 – Some Amenities: Gym, party room, 24 hour concierge

• 438 King (The Hudson) – ~63 cents PSF (Heat and Hydro included)
• 230 King Street (King’s Court) – ~60 cents PSF (Heat and Hydro included)

Category 3 - No Amenities: No gym, no party room, minimal or no concierge

• 25 Oxley (GLAS) – ~55 cents PSF (Heat and Hydro NOT included)
• 10 Morrison (Freed building, originally marketed as 455 Adelaide) – 48 cents PSF (Heat and Hydro NOT included)

The question then is why are maintenance fees NOT any lower in buildings with fewer amenities? The reasons can vary from building to building, but the best answer is simply economies of scale – that is, the buildings that have a lot of amenities tend to be the largest buildings and therefore have a huge number of suites to spread the cost over (400+ suites), whereas the buildings with no amenities tend to be smaller buildings with very few units (less than 200).

There are always exceptions, but in general, there are 2 things that probably influence maintenance fees the most

1. Size of the building (more suites = lower maintenance fees for a given level of amenities)
2. Age of the building (the older the building the higher the fees)

A third factor which I also refer to is how the building is managed, or more precisely, WHO is managing the building. This factor is far more subjective though and hard to directly correlate with the actual maintenance fee rate.

Questions or comments? Please contact me.

*calculations for all buildings mentioned here based on MLS listing data and for units with 1 parking spot

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Parade Two: Park View Residences

VIP sales are starting now for Parade Two: Park View Residences. Contact me for more information.

The Park View residences are floors 12-21 of the West tower of Parade. The south units will be overlooking the newly opened and yet to be named Cityplace Park. Go to Cityplace.ca to view a promotional video.

Units are now available for booking to VIP agents such as myself for the sales event which will be taking place on November 5th. The incentives for purchasers now is $10,000 off for 1 bedroom and 1+den units and $20,000 off for 2 bedroom units. Prices for VIP purchasers will be starting in the $520 per square foot range for the lowest floors.

Standard suite features at Parade 2 include Miele kitchen appliances, European style cabinets, laminate flooring, and stone counter tops. The amenities at Parade will be second to none, and will include a pet spa, daycare, children’s indoor and outdoor play areas, 25m lap pool, state-of-the-art gym etc. Occupancy is estimated at September 2012.

Click here to download floor plans.

Click here to download deposit structure, features, price sheet etc.

Want to hear about opportunities like this before everyone else? Sign up for my new service and Put Us on Your Radar today!

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Cityplace Offers 20% Off Units*

*I had to put an asterisk right in the title of this post because of course there are plenty of stipulations on this promotion from Concord Adex. It may sound too good to be true…but it’s not entirely.

It’s starting to feel like 2007 all over again as would-be buyers have been lined up at Concord’s sales office near Front and Spadina for a few days now to take advantage of this sales event happening this Saturday at 12 noon. It is in celebration of Concord’s 20th anniversary in Canada.

The conditions:

• 20% off is applied as a cash rebate at final closing (so you pay $300K for the unit and Concord promises to rebate  you $60K at final closing)
• Only applies to the first 20 purchasers in line on Saturday March 28th at noon (First unit purchased will receive the 20% cash-back, any subsequent units purchased by the same person will get 15% cash-back)
• Only applies to units at Parade Tower 1 for Cityplace, and for buildings A,B and D at Park Place (Concord’s other mega-development at Leslie and Sheppard)
• Subsequent purchasers who buy units on March 28 will receive a 15% cash rebate – not a bad consolation prize

The first 20 spots are already locked up by people who have been camping out at the sales centre, but if you are an investor or first time buyer looking to get a good deal, the 15% off could be a great opportunity. As long as you are not too picky about what suite you purchase, because most of the prime suites are long gone from Parade 1.

If you would like more information on this promotion from Concord feel free to contact me.

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Losing Money on Your Toronto Condo?

Over the past 10 years, the idea of losing money on Toronto Real Estate was thought to be an impossibility. Prices were increasing at a nice 5-6% per year, and that translated into thousands of dollars per month in ‘paper gains’. Not so any more. If you bought a condo in the past 18 months and you are trying to sell today, there is a high probability that you will lose money on the transaction.

I have been working with a buyer the past few days who is looking for a 2 bedroom condo downtown in the resale market. Our search took to the East Side, then to the West, and eventually we have settled on Cityplace as the buildings and the location is appealing to my client.

Researching some of the properties that are currently on the market quickly reveals that many sellers at Cityplace are currently looking at losing propositions on their investments. 

Couple examples:

• A 2 bed+den/2 bath unit is currently on the market for $410,000, original list $429,900. The seller paid $375,000 for the unit in June 2007. The seller spent probably around $15,000 in renovations. This one will sell for around $385,000. Assume closing costs of around $20,000 and these sellers are looking at a $25,000 ‘on paper’ loss.
• Another 2 bed+den/2 bath unit is currently on the market for $360,000. Original list price was $399,900. The seller paid $379,000 for the unit in December 2007. Let’s say the unit sells for $350,000-if so, the seller would be looking at a $29,000 hit + closing costs of roughly $20,000. $50,000 loss in 1 year of ownership. Ouch.

I always appreciate your feedback. Leave a comment or send me an email via my contact page.

Photo by Wyliepoon

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