Lockers More Important Than Ever
Over the past 2 years in particular, the size of condos in Toronto have been getting progessively smaller. The shrinking size of condos has allowed developers to continue to keep the actual prices of the units at a reasonable level, even while the average price per square foot has basically doubled in the last 7-8 years.
We’ve seen 270 sq ft studios, 395 sq ft 1 bedrooms , 580 sq ft 2 bedrooms, and 859 sq ft 3 bedrooms. All of these units would have been considered asinine and unsaleable as recently as 2006, but now they are in just about every building south of Dundas.
One big question many buyers are asking is: where am I supposed to put all my stuff? Storage lockers are more important than ever for storage, however, I am finding lately that they are becoming harder and harder to get. It used to be that developers would finalize parking spaces and locker spaces before they ever went to market, and buyers would be able to buy both at the time they signed their agreement for their unit. Now, locker spaces and parking garage areas are often still in the ‘design stage’ when projects go to market and developers don’t have exact numbers of how many they will be able to sell, so they don’t sell them in the initial launch stages. When they do become available to buy, there is often a shortage and only certain units can actually buy lockers.
Why is this happening? Two key reasons in my opinion:
- Developers are usually in a rush to get their projects to market and investors don’t usually care about parking or lockers
- Developers seem to be sacrificing locker space and parking space in order to maximize the number of units they can put in a building (maximize profits) as well as minimize the construction of underground levels (minimize costs)
I’m all for minimalistic living, but 400 sq ft and no locker is pushing it! I’m concerned some of these buildings will not be all the ‘liveable’ when completed. One building that launched recently is said to only have 10 lockers for around 200 units! Quick investment idea: buy a condo, gut it and split it up into storage lockers and rent them out to people in the buildings where lockers are at a premium!
Questions or comments? Please contact me.
