Crazy Condo Market #44

By SHAWN LACKIE

A few weeks back we took the grandkids into Toronto, to see The Lion King. I thought it might be cool and a little less stressful taking the GO Train which it most definitely was. As we hit close to the lakeshore, I was really set back by the number of condos rising in that area.

Don’t get me wrong, many of us see that every day. However, due to this, many don’t really take the opportunity to reflect on just how much building has gone on.

We lived at Jarvis and Front for a couple years, back in the early 1980s, at a time when most of the downtown was spotted with empty, ground level, parking lots. Which, now, are ALL condo buildings or some such. Talk about progress, or is it? It seems the condo market is struggling right now because of the plethora of palaces being built. When we were there, it cost us $275 a month and included one underground parking spot. The unit also had a 4 by 8 storage room. We were in seventh heaven or at least we thought. It was a great location, close to the St. Lawrence Market. We didn’t really need a car. The vibe in downtown Toronto, on a Sunday afternoon, at ANY time of the year, was really cool. The world really was our oyster.

Fast forward to, a few years back, when I was helping clients look for a condo to rent in the city core. We found one all right, but wow, it was 470 square feet and the bathroom was the biggest room in the unit, with no parking and no storage locker. The cost? A cool $2,500 per month. Yep, you read that right. The landlord made us think she was doing us a favour. It was right when there was a panic to rent downtown by just about everyone. The same client decided to move two years later, so away we went. We found one in Liberty Village, for less money. I think it was $2,200 but much bigger, at 740 sq ft. They were pleased.

Shortly after, I represented another client looking downtown and again I found them a 400-500 sq ft place, for that same $2,500 which seemed to be the going rate. Then, the pandemic hit and everyone fled downtown, for obvious reasons. Rents dropped and vacancy rates soared, and it looked like a sort of equilibrium was on the way. Which there was for a bit, but condo owner/landlords are a greedy lot. They don’t seem to care about whether their place is vacant or not. They want their price and that’s that, take it or leave it. This is why we have seen so many vacant condos in the last few years, and it will get worse. The latest data drop had statistics on what they are charging for parking places. Yes PARKING PLACES.

That has become a real bone of contention. Six or seven years ago clients would pay approximately $200 per month for a parking space downtown. That number has risen significantly and yet these crazies continue to build more high rise units, in the expectation they will all be sold or rented. Best wishes with that; they’re going to need it.