H2 OTHEGLOBEANDMAIL | FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER13,2019
R
ecord prices in the Toronto-
area condo market don’t
appear to be fazing inves-
tors – whether they are living in
town or buying from afar.
Robin Pope of Pope Real Estate
Ltd. saw a diminutive studio
apartment arrive on the market
recently and immediately
thought of his client working in
New York.
She already owns one Toronto
condo unit and was looking to in-
vest in another. The asking price
of $470,000 for a unit in a solid
building near King Street East and
Church Street appeared fair to Mr.
Pope, who toured the unit on her
behalf.
Some sellers set a low-ball ask-
ing price and then hold off offers
for a week, but that wasn’t the
strategy in this case. Offers were
welcome any time.
Despite their quick move to
offer the full asking price, com-
peting bids soon landed while the
seller was on a flight from Dubai.
Mr. Pope’s client raised her offer
to $501,000, but the amount still
fell short.
The sale price of $515,000 for
460 square feet set a new mile-
stone for the building, Mr. Pope
says, who points out that the sell-
er wasn’t even trying to spark a
bidding war and still received four
offers.
Mr. Pope says the deal is one
illustration of the current tempo
in downtown Toronto.
“The market is insane. It’s real-
ly, really busy.”
In another case, a couple look-
ing to move up to a larger proper-
ty began their search immediate-
ly after Labour Day. Midweek,
they sent Mr. Pope a list of five
properties they’d like to look at
and he set up appointments for
Saturday.
“We booked five places and
within two days every one of
them was sold.”
According to the latest figures
from the Toronto Real Estate
Board, growth in sales of existing
units downtown has slowed from
its previous blistering pace.
In August, condo sales in the
Greater Toronto Area rose 2.2 per
cent in the central 416 area, com-
pared with the same month last
year. In the 905 region, sales
jumped 8.2 per cent in August
compared with August, 2018.
But with demand still strong,
the average price of a condo in the
416 rose to $619,307 to mark a
5.7-per-cent increase in August
compared with the same month
in 2018.
In the 905, the price rose to
$478,755 for an 8.5-per-cent jump
from August of last year.
“The condominium apartment
segment continued to lead the
way in terms of price growth, fol-
lowed by higher density low-rise
home types and finally detached
houses,” according to TREB.
Mr. Pope says condo units cur-rently being sold before or during
construction are fetching more
than $1,600-a-square foot for
their units. High-profile projects
on King Street West, Front Street
West and University Avenue have
all been selling in that range, he
says.
“People are gobbling that stuff
up and they’re all investors.”
Some buyers are still trying to
negotiate a deal.
Mr. Pope recently represented a
couple who were selling one con-
do unit and trading up to a larger
property.
In August, they listed their one-
bedroom condo near Bay Street
and Wellesley Street with an ask-
ing price of $589,900.
Mr. Pope says the unit was
sharply priced and offers were
welcome any time. A few agents
called and suggested their clients
might be willing to offer $560,000.
Mr. Pope asked the agents if
they had reviewed the compara-
ble sales in the building with their
clients.
“I talked them out of the idea
that we would sell at a discount.”
The unit sold for $589,000 and
the sellers were then able to look
for a move-up property.
After a short search, they found
a stacked townhouse near Dun-
das Street East and Broadview
Avenue.
The asking price of $669,000
was significantly below the
amount that others in the build-
ing had sold for, Mr. Pope says.
“They just listed at that price to
create that frenzy of showings,”
he says. “It’s kind of irrelevant
what they’re asking.”
Mr. Pope’s clients made a bully
offer of $787,500 for the two-bed-room unit with a rooftop terrace.
That amount was $28,000
more than the past sale in the
building, but the condo had a sky-
line view and other attributes that
the other units lacked.
With the deal, the clients were
able to increase their living space
to about 950 square feet from 710
square feet.
Mr. Pope says another client re-
located to a new job in the tech
sector in Vancouver recently and
looked at buying real estate in
White Rock, B.C. But she contact-
ed him after learning more about
the local market and deciding
that she would rather buy an in-
vestment property in Toronto.
Mr. Pope says the tech execu-
tive believes that the Toronto real
estate market looks more stable.
“That’s what one person is
thinking,” he says, as an example
of investor sentiment.
At Bank of Montreal, senior
economist Sal Guatieri notes that
Canada’s economy picked up in
the spring despite a simmering
trade battle between the United
States and China.
Housing is a relative bright spot
for this country’s economy, he
says, with existing home sales ris-
ing for five straight months to the
end of July.
“Prices in Toronto have already
hooked up and risk flaring up
again if supply fails to catch up
with sturdy underlying demand
driven by immigration and em-
ployment,” he says.
Mr. Guatieri also cautions that
the most serious threat to Cana-
da’s economy would be an esca-
lating trade war that hammers
global growth and resource
prices.TheaveragepriceofaTorontocondorose5.7percentinAugustcomparedwiththesamemonthlastyear.MARTA IWANEK/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
InvestorsstokingTorontocondofever
TREBfiguresshow
pricesareincreasing
evenassalesslow
CAROLYN
IRELAND
NEXT MOVETORONTO
Prices in Toronto
have already hooked
up and risk flaring up
again if supply fails
to catch up with
sturdy underlying
demand driven by
immigration and
employment.SALGUATIERI
SENIOR ECONOMIST WITH
BANK OF MONTREALTHE ACTIONA dozen or so shoppers
toured this two-storey house near
the Dundas Valley Conservation
Area over a couple of weeks ei-
ther side of Canada Day. Even
with competition from a handful
of other nearby dwellings also for
sale, this one closed a deal within
three weeks.
“For Ancaster standards, this
went fairly quick,” agent Michael
St. Jean said. “It’s about an aver-
age of 30 [days on market], or
sometimes a little more since it’s
a bit of a higher price bracket for
the Hamilton area.”
WHAT THEY GOTThis 2,547-square-
foot house was built in the late
1980s on a 48-foot-by-125-foot lot.
There is an attached double ga-
rage and a private yard with a cov-
ered deck, a water feature and
perennial gardens.
There are four bedrooms and
four bathrooms, formal living
and dining rooms and an eat-in
kitchen, as well as casual recre-
ation areas on the main and low-
er levels.THE AGENT’S TAKE“It’s in old Ancas-
ter and it’s in the Ancaster
Heights community that is well
known and highly desirable,” Mr.St. Jean said.
“All around Ancaster Heights,
there are walking trails and con-
servation [lands], so it has a very
scenic feel, with older trees and
bigger lots. And for commuters,
you can literally get on the high-
way in to two or three minutes.”
The house itself is in solid
shape for its age. “The home has
awesome bones,” Mr. St. Jean
said.
“The majority of buyers are
looking for a family home where
they can raise their kids and put
them in good schools.”
–SYDNIAYUAncasterhomesellsquickly,butunderasking
34CharterhouseCres.,
Ancaster,Ont.
ANCASTER
Asking price: $799,000
Selling price: $782,000
Previous selling price: $428,500
(2010); $406,500 (2005); $247,000
(1995)
Taxes: $6,483 (2018)
Days on the market: 21
Listing agent: Michael St. Jean, St.
Jean Realty Inc.
DONE DEAL
| REALESTATE