[1Ć0]

Go look at the rental prices for Tricon's stuff. I did. I've been tracking the Tricon rental prices for years in the Distillery District. It's absolutely not affordable or even realistic pricing. I watched Maple House struggle with their high prices, only to drop them to $2100 and now they're right back up to $2600+ and that was in a span of months. Tricon's rental prices are so expensive, they should have just made them all condos.

Yea Tricon is playing some weird games in WDL. I don't think Maple House is more than 50/60% occupied still. But they did provide 20% affordable, which are all full. And ironically enough, Tricons rents are ordinarily lower than Fitzrovias, who is still targeting high $4s/SF or $5/SF. Mind you, once you factor in 2 months free rent, usually $1,000 cash, other perks like aeroplan points, wifi, gift cards, etc... you get into low $4/SF rents, which is probably more in line with pre-COVID rents in Toronto.

Rental Housing alone is not a solution, if the prices are so high that it's effectively the same amount that you'd pay for a mortgage, which is where we are at right now. Also, take a look at the absurd number of condos in the same area.

And cost of renting is less than ownership right now (or generally always was) - especially with rents dropping and anticipated to continue to drop over the next 2-3 years (same with home prices). Rent for a 500 SF 1 bed should be about $2,000 to $2,200 today, with all the incentives factored in. To buy the same new unit today, you'd be looking at a purchase price of about $450K, which would translate into a $2K mortgage per month (with 20% down). When you add in maintenance (prob like $350/month) and property taxes (another $200/month), insurance ($50/month) and utilities ($100/month), the cost of ownership per month is about $2,700. And the need for a downpayment + LTT is another big cost with ownership.

All that said, do I think 4 Gilead will offer affordable housing? Probably not but I think that of ever builder these days. Affordable housing is definitely an afterthought in this area now, imo.

I would disagree here since all development in the WDL and waterfront has to include 20% affordable. And stuff along Esplanade is a combination of co-ops and TCHC. Plus you have MP and RP to the north. There is a big focus on affordable housing in this area of the City - not so much in Corktown and the original ten blocks though.

 

[Undead]

purchase price of about $450K

It's even worse than that--aren't developers still trying to get 600k for 500 sq.ft. units? Obviously, those units aren't selling at those prices, but it appears the devs prefer to sit on unsold units instead of selling and realizing losses/marking to market.

 

[GameOnBrad]

Well, we're straying off topic completely here so this is the last I will say here on this...

People need to look deeper than surface details. Especially when those details can be manipulated, such as "market rate". Regent Park is a great example of this. Look at the market rate before and after gentrification.

Rental Averages cannot be trusted either. You need to remove all rent prices prior to November 2018, when the Province Passed that legislation for rent increases, and focus on all the new builds with no rent increase restrictions. In other words: A low rent price on the surface is pointless, if your rent increase ends up being 10%, 20%, 50%, 100% and they would be legally allowed to do it.

"Incentives", such as 2 months free rent and such are complete sleight of hand marketing tactics. How do I know this? 1.) I've worked in marketing for 26 years and employ these tactics for various products, and 2.) Because I literally did take a 2 months free rent for an 18 month lease recently in a new build. You know what happened after that 18 months? Their rent increases ate up that 2 months free rent in less than 2 years..

And when I complained about the high rent increases? Not "it's an expensive build" or "we have a debt to pay off". It was "We are legally allowed to based on Provincial Laws"... with a "We could have raised it 15%. Other people in the building had 12 to 15% increases". In other words, I should be quiet, or else.

Also, the "20% affordable housing" is also an illusion if you don't look at how many units that actually is. Saying 20% is designed to make it sound like a large number. I saw one building recently offer 20% and when I looked into it, it was 18 units.

Toronto will never truly deal with the affordable housing issue. They just keep dancing about the edges because they don't want to enrage homeowners and investors and are also drunk on land taxes. They just focus on what looks good optically. Another marketing tactic I'm very familiar with. Remarkable how none of city council are renters and many, if not all, never were but have at it, I guess.

 

[Undead]

If you make your living like this

I've worked in marketing for 26 years and employ these tactics for various products

you don't really get to complain about this

"Incentives", such as 2 months free rent and such are complete sleight of hand marketing tactics

 

[3Dementia]

All this meaningless chat about rentals when no-one asks the real question: will Pearl Group be required to disclose the true tenure of Gilead Place, namely a new (Canadian) outpost for the dystopian, totalitarian organization that has been enslaving fertile women as handmaids to bear children for Commanders, right-leaning City Counsellors and members of a certain provincial party for the past 9 years.

ScreenRant

 

[1Ć0]

It's even worse than that--aren't developers still trying to get 600k for 500 sq.ft. units? Obviously, those units aren't selling at those prices, but it appears the devs prefer to sit on unsold units instead of selling and realizing losses/marking to market.

There are some deals out there, like the below. Not the greatest layout or view, but not a bad deal for a pretty new unit.

CentreCourt also reduced their prices significantly for Pickering Town Centre and Kipling Station Condos - in the $700/sf range

Resale market even more desperate - you can pick up 2 bed 2 bath downtown in the high $500,000s now

 

[Undead]

Resale market even more desperate - you can pick up 2 bed 2 bath downtown in the high $500,000s now

Resale supply is at about 4 months right now so the market's actually balanced, though prices are still trending 5-6% lower year over year because of poor sentiment. Anecdotally, prices for large older units and especially detached in my area are mostly stable since last year.

 

[GameOnBrad]

Notice now posted...