It’s that time of year again, the time of year after a very busy spring market (I would argue a typical spring market) that was full of bidding wars, new price records being set, sellers making enormous profits, buyers extending themselves to the max, and the pundits were left scratching their heads saying: is this […]
With several dozen new condos expected to launch over the next 60-90 days in Toronto, the question for investors is quickly becoming: Which one(s) do I invest in? If you believe the prevailing message of the condo marketing machine, newer is always better. That is, getting into a condo at the earliest stage is always […]
I guess this makes it official: everyone is talking about the Toronto condo market. I was interviewed a couple weeks ago for an article on our condo market by a writer for the Wall Street Journal, and today that article hit wsj.com. Read the entire article here. See what people on Twitter are saying about […]
Location is the most important factor when considering any real estate investment. You can change many things about a property, but you can’t change its location, therefore it’s vitally important for any condo buyer to understand exactly what makes a good location good. Why do some condos appreciate at higher rates and command higher resale […]
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. […]
Some buildings downtown you will almost never see a listing in them. Why? Because units come on the market and sell so quickly that at any given time there is nothing available. On the other hand, there are some buildings where ‘insane seller syndrome’ runs rampant. These are the buildings where there are always dozens […]
My last blog post I wrote about the Absorption Rates of various downtown condos got a lot of attention and even inspired my friend John Pasalis from MoveSmartly.com to write a great post about the condo market. The issue I wrote about was the fact that some condos, like Festival Tower for example, are loaded with […]
I had a condo buyer email me recently and tell me they were looking to buy a resale condo with a 6-7% cap rate. This would be a somewhat rare but  achievable cap rate if you were buying a multi-unit freehold property in the core of Toronto, however, for a condo, this kind of cap […]
There are some signs of cracks forming in the foundation of the ultra-luxury condo market in Toronto. Two months ago I wrote a blog post about the Absorption Rates at some downtown condos, and how units at brand new, high-end buildings are not selling. At that time, there was a 30 month supply of inventory […]
Will the Condo Market Crash?
July 14, 2011 / by Andrew la Fleur / Insights
It’s that time of year again, the time of year after a very busy spring market (I would argue a typical spring market) that was full of bidding wars, new price records being set, sellers making enormous profits, buyers extending themselves to the max, and the pundits were left scratching their heads saying: is this […]
Read more
Newer is Better, Right?
August 23, 2011 / by Andrew la Fleur / Insights
With several dozen new condos expected to launch over the next 60-90 days in Toronto, the question for investors is quickly becoming: Which one(s) do I invest in? If you believe the prevailing message of the condo marketing machine, newer is always better. That is, getting into a condo at the earliest stage is always […]
Read more
Wall Street Journal Chimes in on the Toronto Condo Market
August 24, 2011 / by Andrew la Fleur / Insights
I guess this makes it official: everyone is talking about the Toronto condo market. I was interviewed a couple weeks ago for an article on our condo market by a writer for the Wall Street Journal, and today that article hit wsj.com. Read the entire article here. See what people on Twitter are saying about […]
Read more
What Makes a Good Location Good?
September 1, 2011 / by Andrew la Fleur / Insights
Location is the most important factor when considering any real estate investment. You can change many things about a property, but you can’t change its location, therefore it’s vitally important for any condo buyer to understand exactly what makes a good location good. Why do some condos appreciate at higher rates and command higher resale […]
Read more
Lockers More Important Than Ever
September 14, 2011 / by Andrew la Fleur / Insights
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. […]
Read more
Maple Leaf Square: Highest Proportion of Out to Lunch Sellers in Toronto?
October 6, 2011 / by Andrew la Fleur / Insights
Some buildings downtown you will almost never see a listing in them. Why? Because units come on the market and sell so quickly that at any given time there is nothing available. On the other hand, there are some buildings where ‘insane seller syndrome’ runs rampant. These are the buildings where there are always dozens […]
Read more
Festival Tower Update: Units Starting to Move
November 11, 2011 / by Andrew la Fleur / Insights
My last blog post I wrote about the Absorption Rates of various downtown condos got a lot of attention and even inspired my friend John Pasalis from MoveSmartly.com to write a great post about the condo market. The issue I wrote about was the fact that some condos, like Festival Tower for example, are loaded with […]
Read more
Cap Rates and Condos
November 22, 2011 / by Andrew la Fleur / Insights
I had a condo buyer email me recently and tell me they were looking to buy a resale condo with a 6-7% cap rate. This would be a somewhat rare but  achievable cap rate if you were buying a multi-unit freehold property in the core of Toronto, however, for a condo, this kind of cap […]
Read more
Warning Signs in the Ultra-Luxury Market
November 30, 2011 / by Andrew la Fleur / Insights
There are some signs of cracks forming in the foundation of the ultra-luxury condo market in Toronto. Two months ago I wrote a blog post about the Absorption Rates at some downtown condos, and how units at brand new, high-end buildings are not selling. At that time, there was a 30 month supply of inventory […]
Read more