Condo market overview-part 1

By Amit Paul

While it's obvious that times "they are'a changing," a deeper truth also suggests that this market will have a different impact on the various pockets within our great city.  Much like Mother Nature has recently demonstrated, piling near 10 cm of snow at one end of the GTA while letting the other end escape with a few flurries, the various corners of the GTA are, and will continue to be, affected differently and to varying degrees. 

We will discuss the Downtown Core, Downtown West and North York, to begin with.

Downtown Core

If you're looking to buy within the downtown area, as I've mentioned before, now is a terrific time to do so.  There are a number of impressive deals to be had.  There was a time not too long ago when securing a home downtown for a good deal meant not paying too much more than list price.  A property would be listed for $400,000 and securing it for $408,000 meant extremely happy buyers and a job well done.  To go from that extreme to a situation where you can secure those same, very valuable downtown properties at thousands below even market value of a few months ago is almost like benefiting from the prospect of traveling back in time. 

Downtown was the last market to be affected by the downtrend and in all likelihood will be the first to begin climbing again. Downtown will always be downtown - the central hub and Mecca of our metropolis.  With that comes the safety of security, and also the sting of costliness. 

Downtown West

King West and Bloor West can be grouped together with Queen West as they share many similarities. These areas benefited immensely from the past several years of booming real estate prices. King West especially, being a newer pocket, went from affordable and quaint to trendy and expensive in a matter of less than half a decade.

It's important to remember that "bargain" is a relative term.  King West and Bloor West are still extremely popular and convenient areas and so will also benefit from market security.  Bargain in this context means that no longer will you be forced to pay $10,000-$50,000 above market value in these areas.  Much like the downtown core, buyers will benefit from a virtual trip back in time - you're securing a property in 2008/2009 below the already established high price of months ago.  This also means that once the markets turn around the upside on appreciation value is very desirable.

North York

Overall the North York market seems to have been most impervious to the shift in market.  In most scenarios you don't see prices free-falling.  Of course there are those few buildings that are being forced back down to reality but in many cases those buildings were known to be overpriced and avoided.  The most affordable units in North York, the ones that represented the greatest value, have not fallen much further than where they started, but they too have fallen

Is North York a good place to invest?  With Tridel's Hullmark Centre set to release a few years down the line I firmly believe that North York Y's ceiling remains very ambitious.  This new complex will indeed change the entire face of North York by adding to the prestige, shock and wow factors.  To put it simply, prices will necessarily climb.  While North York remains a very safe investment, of most interest to the buyer is the fact that North York may be the most lucrative investment - the one with the most upside.  Any investor will tell you that the option promising both safety and appreciation is where the smart money lies.  While North York cannot be described as a well kept secret, as the months go on its value, as a real estate market on the GTA scope, becomes increasingly evident.

As always I'm happy to help you find your answers.  If you'd like a specific area discussed next week, or if you have any questions or comments at all, please feel free to email me at amitp@rogers.com