The month of May marked the second full month of Covid-19 lockdowns in the City of Toronto. See how each real estate segment performed during the month.
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For Sale: 121 Prescott Ave. Rarely available loft for sale at the Stockyard Lofts. Includes parking and locker.
For Lease – this one bedroom condo at 600 Fleet St offers the perfect size and space for a downtown condo. Parking and locker are also included
How Did the Toronto Real Estate Market Perform in 2018?
2018 wasn’t much of a record-shattering year, and I don’t think anyone should be very surprised by the outcome! As we forecasted at the start of it, 2017 hit new heights in the city – and keeping on pace in 2018 would be nearly impossible. But that doesn’t make 2018 a disaster either. In fact, 2018 was a more balanced and easier to navigate market than in years past… so with that being said, let’s take a closer look at what happened!
Average Prices in Toronto for 2018
The average price of real estate in Toronto for 2018 was $783,082! There was a two-way tie for the highest average price with June and October both clearing $807,000. $736,783 marked the lowest average price and was set in January. Compared to 2017, the overall average price in Toronto declined by 2.85% or $23,000.
Total Number of Listings In Toronto for 2018
The busiest month of 2018 was May with more than 19,000 properties coming to market. As impressive as the number sounds, we were still 6,000 properties short of the 25,000 listings reached in May 2017. The slowest month for new listings was December with only 4,300 coming to market and was expected with the seasonal slowdown during the holidays.
Total Number of Sales
In total, we had 77,909 sales in 2018. That represented a sharp drop of 15,249 fewer sales (16%) compared to the 93,158 sales in 2017.
Days On Market In Toronto for 2018
It took 25 days (on average) for properties to sell in Toronto. From March to June that number went down to just 20 days, and in January and December, it went up to 30 days.
A Summary of 2018
To better understand 2018, we have to start back in 2017!
2017 was a pivotal year in the city, reaching historical highs for both prices and the number of properties sold. The driving source of the price appreciation in the market was the soaring prices for detached homes throughout the first part of the year. At its height, detached homes were selling for more than $1,500,000. Affordability coupled with buyer fatigue, government intervention and changes to mortgage lending resulted in a swift cool down from May to August. We saw prices start to pick back up from September to year end, but never quite reaching the highs we saw earlier in the year.
At the beginning of 2018, we cautioned that the media would focus solely on “Year over Year” comparisons. We also forecasted that the numbers wouldn’t be as strong as in 2017, and to expect sharp contrasts between the two years. It’s hard to get a real sense of where the market is at if you’re only comparing against a record-breaking year (and the same is true if we were to compare it with a less than stellar year). For this reason, we also added analysis of the three-month trend for each segment and gained a more accurate look at the direction of the market!
Prices of detached homes proved to be a double-edged sword. As they cut through the headlines of 2017 and boosted the monthly averages – they did the opposite in 2018, performing like more of an anchor bringing prices and overall averages down.
Detached homes experienced the biggest price decline in 2018. Prices were down by $76,000 on average (a 5.5% decrease year over year) to just $1,307,604.
On the other side of the scale, condo prices helped the market maintain its pace and took the top awards in several categories.
Condos represented the best-performing segment of the year – up 9.4% (from January-December 2018), they had the highest year over year appreciation – up 9% (or $49,900) and also recorded the highest number of sales at 16,348!
Townhouses started off strong, nearly tieing the 2017 record-setting price of $793,129 by recording a high of $792,180 in April of 2018. But from there on out, prices started shifting down with prices ending the year at $714,456.
In 2018, the Semi-Detached market caught our attention the most… and we think they’re going to continue to be the segment to watch in 2019! From January to November, prices have gone up by over 13% (even higher than condos). There are two main reasons for the sharp appreciation: Price Point and Housing style.
1. Price Point – semis have been hovering around the million dollar mark throughout the year. In many parts of the city, you can still buy a semi for less than a million dollars. This gives buyers the flexibility to purchase with less than 20% down (something that can’t be done with houses priced over a million). Even at the million dollar mark, semi’s represent a housing style (with land and a backyard) for much less than the detached average of $1.3 million!
2. Housing Style – Most people start the property ladder single, and in a condo. As they partner up and move up the ladder, a house is typically the next step. We think that as more condo owners trade up, demand for houses will increase (as we partially saw in 2017). The semi represents a more affordable option and smaller price gap when compared to a detached home. Most semi’s also come with 3 or more bedrooms. Bungalows (at times can be priced in the same range as semis) often times only offer 2 bedrooms. For those who want the space and style of a house but without the higher price found in the detached market – the semi is our pick best-appreciating segment in 2019!
Individual Market Performance by Segment
Detached Houses
Average Price: $1,307,604
Yearly Percent Change: -5.51%
Yearly Dollar Amount Change: -76,207.58
Yearly High: May $1,426,094
Yearly Low: December $1,145,892
Semi-Detached Houses
Average Price: $991,105
Yearly Percent Change: +1.75%
Yearly Dollar Amount Change: +$17,081.50
Yearly High: May $1,067,128
Yearly Low: August $891,208
Townhouses
Average Price: $738,458
Yearly Percent Change: +3.56%
Yearly Dollar Amount Change: +$25,407.17
Yearly High: April $792,180
Yearly Low: January $712,186
Condos
Average Price: $590,832
Yearly Percent Change: +9.03%
Yearly Dollar Amount Change: +$48,936.67
Yearly High: September $615,582
Yearly Low: January $543,279
How Many Luxury Condos Sold In Toronto For 2018?
From sprawling terraces, private wine cellars and even a penthouse with its own “backyard in the sky”… the luxury condo market in Toronto saw 28 suites sell for more than $3,500,000!
Leading this years list of most expensive condos in Toronto was an $8,000,000 penthouse that sold at the Shangri-La. In second place was $7,900,000 sale at The St. Regis Residences (formerly known as the Trump Hotel) followed by a $5,750,000 sale at the Residents of the Ritz Carlton.
The average price for a luxury condo in Toronto was just over $4,500,000.
How Much Was The Most Expensive Condo in Toronto for 2018
The most expensive condo sale in Toronto took place at the Shangri-La Residences in downtown Toronto. The three bedroom, two level penthouse featured 3415 sq.ft. of interior space and a private sky-high backyard measuring in at 1565 sq.ft. The penthouse was the last of four to sell at the Shangri-La and set the record for most expensive condo in Toronto at $8,000,000.
We toured the unit before it sold and absolutely loved the everything it offered – from its white oak chevron flooring to the gas fireplace wrapped in Calacatta marble… Check out more photos below!
Which Luxury Buildings in Toronto Had The Most Sales
In 2017, the bulk of sales occurred at The Four Seasons Residences, but in 2018 there was a five-way tie spread out over several buildings. 88 Davenport (The Florian), 183 Wellington (The Ritz Residence), 1 St. Thomas, 200 Russel Hill and back again for another year The Four Seasons Residences each recorded three sales over $3,500,000!
Which Luxury Buildings Had The Highest Maintenance Fees
A penthouse at the Hazelton Lanes Private Residences recorded the highest maintenance fees at a monthly rate of $6211.82/month. The same unit also made the list for the largest terrace, measuring in at 3507 sq.ft!
Which Million Dollar Condo Had The Most Amount Of Parking Spaces?
The penthouse at Theatre Park offered the most amount of parking spots with 4. The penthouse took up the entire 47th floor and featured a 360-degree 2,100 Sq.Ft. wrap-around terrace.
How Long Did it Take for Luxury Condos to Sell in Toronto?
On average it took about 40 days for these condos to sell. The longest took 185 days, and the shortest was sold in just one day!
Where Are The Majority of Luxury Condos Located in Toronto?
The majority of condos that sold for more than $3,500,000 were located in the downtown core and the majority of them in the Yorkville neighbourhood. The Residences of the Ritz Carlton and the St. Regis Hotel were two other two popular buildings located on both the east and west sides of the core!
Iceland is home to many things… waterfalls, lagoons, and even really, really, realllllly good hotdogs – but did you know, it’s also where you’ll find one of the BEST DESIGNED BUILDINGS IN THE WORLD!
Located in downtown Reykjavik, The Harpa Concert Hall (as it is officially known) is home to the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Icelandic Opera. It has four large halls – the largest can accommodate up to 1800 seats. But it’s size alone isn’t the only reason why you can’t miss it… the envelope of the building is wrapped with 714 uniquely shaped glass panels, each giving off a different colour or shade depending on how the light hits it! It is also the proud winner of the prestigious European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award, the European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation beating 335 other works from 37 European countries!
The History of The Harpa
The hall was designed in collaboration with Danish-Icelandic artist Ólafur Elíasson along with his Studio, and the Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects who also built the Opera House in Copenhagen.
Harpa celebrated its opening with a concert on May 4th, 2011 – but its rise to fame started much earlier. Construction started in 2007, and at that time the plan was to build an “Icelandic World Trade Center” complete with hotels and luxury apartments. But then the financial crisis hit in 2008, and deeply impacted the country. Things got so bad that the project was essentially put on hold and sat half finished. Thankfully Icelandic Government stepped in to save the project and funded it to completion.
According to the Grayline Iceland blog, the hall got its unique name through a public competition: Over 1,200 residents entered over 4,000 names. The winning name, Harpa, is an Old Icelandic word that refers to a time of year, and it is also a month in the old Nordic calendar, and the first day of the month of ‘Harpa’ as it was known was the first day of summer.
Visiting The Harpa Concert Hall
After crossing waterfalls, and hot-springs from your to-do list, be sure to include a stop at The Harpa. It’s free to visit, though access to certain areas may be restricted while events are being held. It shouldn’t take more than an hour to see, and offers a warm refuge from the windy Reykjavik streets!
Visiting The Harpa for your first time is much like walking into a giant igloo (much warmer of course)! The sheer size of the place is incredible, and the transparent walls allow for some spectacular views of the bay and mountains in the distance. The ceilings are capped with reflective mirrors that further distort the sense of space inside the Hall. You’ll be in awe at the architectural and engineering marvel that went into its construction… but if “world-class design” isn’t your thing, there’s also a restaurant and gift shop (complete with furry hats) – as well as guided tours of the Hall.
Prior to visiting Iceland, I had no idea the Harpa even existed. With all that the country has to offer, visiting “another building” never really registered on the itinerary of things to do – but after seeing it’s beauty first hand, I’d highly recommend it as something everybody should see while in Iceland… below are some of the other sights we took in while on the trip:
On November 15th, 2018 Doug Ford and the Conservative Government announced plans to scale back rent control in Ontario. The plan will reverse the April 2017 “Rental Fairness Act” originally put in place by Ontario’s then-Liberal government which expanded rent control to all private rental units in Ontario.
Who Will Be Impacted By The Changes to Rent Control?
The new policy will not impact all units in Ontario but rather all newly built units occupied AFTER November 15th, 2018. That means that if you’re planning on renting a unit that was built and occupied PRIOR to November 15th, 2018 – these changes will not impact you at all, and rent control will continue to be in place. Units that are subject to rent control can only increase the monthly rental rate by a predetermined amount set by the government each year. For units without rent control – there is no cap for how much you can increase per year!
How Will The Loosening of Rent Control Impact The Market?
Our first reaction to the change was that this would be HUGE news for the pre-construction market. On the surface, a condo with no rent control seems very appealing to condo investors. But digging (in the video below) a bit deeper, reveals that possibility of the opposite being true…
With these new changes, Tenants will have a choice between living in a rent-controlled unit with relatively minor yearly increases, versus non-controlled rents that can spike to any amount each year. Our assumption is that a tenant will be willing to pay more at the start of the lease in exchange for the stability and peace of mind that a rent-controlled unit will offer them.
In 2017, Toronto saw a big jump in rental prices once the “Rental Fairness Act” came into effect. Since landlords knew they would be limited in how much they could increase the yearly rent, many came to market on the higher end in an effort to hedge against lost rental rates for units with long term tenants. We anticipate a similar impact as there will be an even higher demand for units with rent control.
How Will Changes Impact Landlords and Condo Investors
If you are a landlord of a unit that is built and occupied AFTER November 15th, 2018, you have the option of increasing your rent by any amount, once, per 12 month period.
For landlords of units built and occupied BEFORE November 15th, 2018 the amount you’re allowed to increase per year shall continue to be capped by the yearly amount decided by the government.
When trying to decide if your unit is subject to rent control, it’s important to remember that the date your unit was built and occupied determine if it’s impacted by the changes, and that it has nothing to do with when a lease was signed.
Lastly, remember that governments change… and just as the last one introduced rent control to all units, the same can happen in the next election. Whether you invest in a rent-controlled condo or one with no control, make sure you examine the pros and cons of each carefully!
Marlee Avenue is gearing up for another condo development! An application was submitted with plans for an 11 storey development at the South West corner of Marlee and Glencairn (831 Glencairn). The application was submitted by Masseto Homes Inc and Chestnut Hill Developments (who also built The Address Of Highpark and Life Condos). Plans are calling for an 11 storey midrise, with 224 units proposed!
Who Is Building The Condo at Glencairn and Marlee?
The project is being developed by Chestnut Hill Developments and Masseto Homes Inc. The building is being designed by Kirkor Architect + Planners and the application was submitted by Weston Consulting.
What Will the Condos at 831 Glencairn Look Like?
Early renderings depict an 11 storey mid-rise building, with commercial units on the main floor and residential units above. The commercial component of the building will face Marlee, with the residents accessing the entrance from Hillmount and Glencairn Ave.
The building will have a “set-back” design and with an angular plane from the neighbouring properties to the west. Each residential floor would contain between 8 – 33 units (with fewer units on higher floors). Renderings also show floor to ceiling windows, with balconies or terraces for most units! You can view more renderings below:
What is Currently on Site?
The future condo is being proposed on the commercial lands known as 831, 833, and 837 Glencairn Avenue and the residential addresses located at 278, 280 and 282 Hillmount Avenue.
What Type of Layouts Will 831 Glencairn Ave Have?
Plans are calling for a total of 224 units, with the following unit breakdown:
167 One Bedroom units
35 Two Bedroom units
12 Three Bedroom units
The proposal also states: the site would be served by 190 parking spaces, with 168 dedicated to long-term residential use and the remaining 22 for visitors. 185 of these spaces are to be housed in a two-level underground garage, with the remaining five to be located at grade. Bicycle parking would also be provided, with 179 spaces in the underground levels and 51 at grade.
What Amenities Will the Building Have?
Details are still sparse in terms of the exact amenities the building will have, but according to the proposal, they will be located on the 11th floor.
When Will 831 Glencairn Ave Be Built?
The development proposal was submitted on June 27th 2018. The project is still in its very early stages but is one we’ll be following closely… Check back often for updates!
Our Thoughts on the Project
This is the second midrise development proposal on Marlee, with the first, located on the opposite corner at 529-543 Marlee Ave. The proximity to Glencairn Subway Station makes this development very transit friendly. The area is ripe for development, but with many of the homes starting at $1.5 million and up, affordability is a big hurdle for most. A project like this is great for first time home buyers looking to live in the area. We also like the mix of 3 bedroom units, perfect for the older generation of residents looking to downsize!
Interested in Purchasing at 831 Glencairn Ave?
Fill out the form below to be kept in the know with prices, floorplans and launch dates:
Mark inspires a level of trust and confidence during one of life’s most challenging and risky moments, namely the purchase of a new home. Add to that risk the complexity of buying in Toronto’s market and the situation can lead to a roller coaster ride. Mark’s knowledge of Toronto’s market, his professionalism, calm and strong interpersonal skills are just what I needed in getting back into the market after 15 years. He understood my needs so well that I bought the first home he showed me after he steered me away from a lovely home with what proved a sketchy renovation that I had first seen on my own. My new home is utterly gorgeous and suits my lifestyle and creativity to a tee. It is a total pleasure working with a professional like Mark Savel and I will work with him again if I buy a third property.
– Cass
One of the most important parts of the condo buying process, is reviewing the corporations Status Certificate!
What is A Status Certificate?
A status certificate is a collection of documents, issued by a condominiums property manager that contains info on:
- Contact information – lists out the legal name of the Condo Corporation, Property Management, and Board of Directors.
- Maintenance fee amount (Expenses) – both at time of issue and if there are any plans to increase in the near future.
- Budget – what the building is spending its monthly maintenance fees on.
- Reserve Fund – how much they have saved for the repair and replacement of components in a condo (ie. savings for roof repairs, parking garages, upgrades, etc)
- Legal Proceedings/Claims – if any lawsuits are levied against the corporation, or if the corp has levied any against others.
- Leasing of Units – how many units are currently tenanted in the building
- Notices – announcements of maintenance fee increases, any planned repairs, or other factors that may impact maintenance fees
- Bylaws and Rules – The bylaws and rules list what you can or can’t do in a building…Some buildings in the city have outright bans on pets or restrictions on certain breeds and weights.
- Insurance Requirements – policies the corp has in place, and requirements for new purchasers to have.
How Order a Status Certificate
A seller can request a status certificate by contacting the buildings property manager. The management company will have 10 business days to prepare and can deliver it in either hard copy or in digital via email.
How Much is a Status Certificate
The certificate will cost $100 + HST and can be paid by either the buyer or seller, depending on how a deal is structured.
Why You Must Request a Status Certificate
Sellers – I often suggest ordering one before you even go to market with your property. As a seller, you have a duty and responsibility to disclose any and all details that could impact the sale of your condo. By ordering a status in advance, you’ll be made well aware any potential pitfalls and can disclose these issues to potential purchasers ahead of time to avoid any issues with closing.
Buyers – In a condo, values are closely tied to how well the building is run (second to location of course). If fees skyrocket, you may find that the buildings value will appreciate much slower (or actually depreciate) than a building with lower maintenance fees. A building with known problems can also have an impact on financing and insurance resulting in higher monthly costs – knowing this in advance can allow you to negotiate a better price, or walk away from the deal all together!
Who Reviews the Status Certificate
It is crucial, you take it to a Real Estate Lawyer who has experience in condo dealings. They are trained in knowing what to look for and the right questions to ask. DO NOT take it to general law firm, or rely solely on a realtors review of it!
How Long Do you Have to Review a Status Certificate
Most clauses generally allow 2-3 days for lawyer review. It’s a small window of time, so it’s best have a candid conversation with your lawyer in advance and tell them exactly how you plan on using the property.
A common misstep is with buyers who spends months out of country. If their plan is to rent it on AirBnB while away, it’s best to make sure there aren’t any rules or bylaws preventing you from doing so!
Remember, a Status Certificate is generally valid for only 90 days – so if a seller produces a Status dated older than 90 days, ensure you request a new one.
When Should You Walk Away From Purchasing a Condo
No matter how in love you’ve fallen with your new purchase – there are a number of reasons you may want to walk once the status certificate is reviewed:
- If the corporation has a low reserve fund – with no plans of replenishing
- Lawsuits that could result in a loss to the building
- Indications of an increase to monthly fees or large repairs
- Being blacklisted from lenders or insurance companies
Accompanying Documents That Also Come With a Status Certificate
Other important documents that accompany the status include:
- The Declaration
- Bylaws
- Rules and Regulations,
- Certificate of Insurance
- Current Budget
- Reserve Fund Study
- Management Agreements
- Financial Statements
- New Owner Information
- Move-in and Out forms
- Other Building forms
