Let's Be Real

Ok, let’s be real for a moment. We’re living in very different times and every aspect of our lives has been affected. Real estate is no exception.

If you were or are planning to buy or sell this year, there are so many mixed messages out there that it’s difficult to know what to do. One month the market is doing great and sales are breaking records. Another month no one wants to live in the city anymore so good luck getting your condo sold. Then someone says it’s a sellers market and listings are going as soon as they hit the MLS. What do you believe?

The fact is, it’s all true. The real estate market is not uniform across the GTA (or anywhere). Demand is up for detached homes in suburban and rural areas as the pandemic has forced people to reconsider their living space; prompting many to leave their smaller condos in search of a home with room to spread out, space for a home office and a yard to breathe some fresh air.

With detached homes still out of reach financially for many in the city, buyers have had to look to the suburbs and beyond. This has, in turn, created a surplus of condos on the market - especially within the downtown core. So yes, it’s a sellers market if you live outside the core and a buyers market if you’re looking in the core.

This doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities on both sides. For example, with so many condos on the market it’s a great time to get into the under $1 million category with many older condos available for the first time in years. Buyers can be choosy right now.

And if you’re currently renting, you have an opportunity that hasn’t been available in forever (okay, at least since 2018), to upgrade your location at a similar lease amount or better.

New Developments

But the resale and leasing markets aren’t the only places to find opportunity. Some new developments are now offering more attractive deposit structures. And some luxury developments are offering some nice incentives.

Further, Covid has forced developers to create more secure, pandemic-ready buildings with better ventilation in elevator shafts, better layouts to facilitate social distancing and more.

One luxury development creating some buzz is 7 Dale, a 26-unit residential condo development in Rosedale. It’s a chance to enter this coveted neighbourhood starting at a mere $6 million.

But seriously, if you have a larger home in Toronto that’s becoming too much to maintain, a luxury condo is an ideal next step, particularly for newer developments. In most cases all the amenities you are looking for exist right within your condo - not in shared spaces - so they are very pandemic-friendly.

Luxury or not, the downtown core will always be worth the money, so look for the opportunity that is right for you. And for even more affordability, check outside the core as well. There are some great new developments happening in Scarborough right now for under $1,000/sq ft. Be sure to check out The Manderley condos in Birch Cliff.

And if you’re looking for something outside the city, I recommend the Debut condo development in downtown Barrie that’s only steps to the lake and with direct access to Toronto. It’s an exciting new development in this up and coming locale.

For more exciting new developments, check out the Condo Guide on my website.

Set Realistic Expectations

At the beginning of this post I talked about being real. In this current market, condo owners who are looking to sell need to set realistic expectations. The fact is there are so many condos on the market right now that the price your neighbour got back in January or February is not the price you’re going to get today.

If you need to sell because you have bought or are buying elsewhere, you will need to lower your price expectations. For higher-end condos, this “price adjustment” might be in the $200k range. Set your price too high and your condo will sit on the market, potentially for months. Set a lower, more realistic price and you may just attract enough buyers that you end up getting closer to what you’d like.

Looking for help navigating this confusing market? Get in touch and I will help you uncover the right opportunity for you so you can love, live, life in the city.