North York Pre-construction Condominiums and Townhomes

For pre-construction condos and townhouses, I work with builders like Tridel, Minto, etc. to provide you the best options for your needs.  The occupancies for these condos are 2013 through 2016.

1. Flaire Condos at the Shops at Don Mills, North York (Lawrence and Don Mills), North York (starting from $260,000) 

2. Flo Condos, North York (Yonge and Sheppard), North York (starting from $250,000)

3. EI8HTY8 or, Minto 88 (Yonge and Sheppard), North York (starting from $300,000)

4. Treviso Condos Phase 2 (Lawrence and Dufferin), North york (starting from $180,000)

5. ARISTO at Yonge and 401, North York(South of Sheppard St.) (starting from $250,000)

6. Concord Park Place (Tango 2 and Discovery 2), Leslie and Sheppard, North York (starting from $230,000)

and MANY OTHERS...please see complete list of condos you can buy through me here

If high maintenance fees are a concern for you, see Pre-Construction Townhouses GTA (Condo townhomes have maintenance fees of about $0.15-$0.25 per sq ft. per month, while typical high-rise condo fees are $0.40-$0.60 per sq. ft. per month. Freehold townhomes have no monthly fees)

There is substantial variation, +-20%,  in the price of same size condominiums even within the same building, depending on many factors-which floor, unit's orientation etc. For example, a building may have an average 2 Bedroom condo for $400,000; however, the cheapest 2 Bedroom might be $320,000, and the most expensive 2 Bedroom might be $480,000. Because of this, I encourage you to accompany me to see the model condo and condo building plan at the developer's sales center, decide on the exact condo unit you like, and get a final price quote for that unit.

Once we do this for a few buildings in the area, we will have a set of condo units which interest you in the area, in different buildings. We can compare these units for their features, prices, etc., and based on this, you can decide which condo unit you actually want to buy.

Example: A 20th-floor view unit would be closer in price to a 20th-floor view unit in a similar building nearby, than it would with a viewless first-floor unit in the same building.

I recommend that you look at at a minimum of 3 preconstruction building options before making your final decision. To save your time, I can arrange the visits to nearby sites in the same day.

The 'starting from' prices above give you a rough idea of the price of the smallest/cheapest condos in the building.

Buyers of pre-construction condos do not pay anything for my services-the services are COMPLETELY FREE.

When buying pre-construction condos, one must consider the cash flow of rent in their investment calculation in addition to the capital appreciation potential. This is why a pre-construction condo which will be ready in 1 year from now is worth more than something which will be ready 4 years from now, in the 3 years between the two condos, the first condo will give you a neat cash flow (rent-expenses-taxes). If you are looking for cash flow in the next few years, it makes sense to buy a condo which is closer to completion, and not in the first opening event of the building.

Example (this example explains why condos which are closer to completion cost more than condos which will be completed later): A pre-construction condo ready in 1 year from today (first condo) costs $400,000. Another similar option which will be ready in 4 years costs $370,000 (second condo). Assuming expenses of $400 per month, tax of $400 per month, and a rent of $1800 per month (these are typical numbers in downtown Toronto core today), you will have a neat cash flow of $1000 per month, or $12000 per year for the first condo after it is ready. At the end of the 4th year, when the second condo is ready, you will have $36000 of cash flow accumulated from the first condo-which accounts for the difference in their price today. You must also take into account that after both condos are ready (after the 4th year) the second condo will be slightly more valuable than the first condo, because it will be newer.

When you buy a pre-construction condo through me, I look at it as the beginning of a long-term relationship between us. I will help you resell the condo or sell the condo assignment (if the builder contract permits it). I will also help you in finding a pre-qualified renter for your condo if you decide to rent out your condo.

Buying through you vs. buying directly from the builder
a) Pre-construction condo and townhome buying contracts like your Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS, the document you sign when you agree to purchase the property. See blank document here) are legal documents which have a large number of clauses and conditions in them. I am here to explain you all the details of the APS and other contracts, and will co-ordinate with a real estate lawyer and a mortgage broker to make sure everything is ok in the contracts and the financing requirements (typically, an APS is reviewed and amended a few times before final approval. The buying process after signing of the APS will last from 2 to 12 weeks). The builder's representative and the builder's lawyer need a lot of paperwork and documentation from you, the real estate lawyer, and the mortgage broker; and I will help you prepare you all the paperwork.

b) If things go wrong in the construction process, e.g. delays by builder, or even a builder going bankrupt (happens rarely, but happens, e.g. in Nov. 2008), I will help you with all the legal and administrative procedures to invoke the guarantees (e.g. Tarion), get your deposit money back, etc; and will work with other agents and buyers to find a joint solution.

c) When we are evaluating pre-construction condos and townhomes, I will show you various properties from different builders in your area of interest. We will compare the properties on data like per sq. ft, floor premium, orientation premium, parking space price, locker price etc. so you can decide objectively which property is the best for you. Because I work with many builders/developers at the same time, I have no interest in pushing any one developer or townhouse building to you. This is by far the biggest benefit of buying a pre-construction property through a real estate agent like me.

d) Builders charge the highest prices to clients who come into their sales office without a knowledgeable real estate agent. I am usually on the builder's Platinum or VIP agent list, which means I can get first access to pricing and inventory, and other limited-time offers and discounts which the builder offers to VIP/Platinum agents' clients.

e) If there are problems from your side-unexpected mortgage payment delays (e.g. due to you losing your job, big loss in your business), you moving or relocating to another part of the country/world, etc. during the construction process, I will talk to the builder on your behalf to find mutually acceptable solutions.

f) When the building is almost ready and you are ready to take the keys to the property, I help you with Pre-delivery and Post-delivery inspections. If there is anything which was promised in the APS, the builder's brochures about the property, or in the property's specifications,  but is not constructed or installed correctly, I will help you in getting things fixed from the builder. We will contact Tarion if necessary (Example: Recently, a client who moved-in into a newly constructed condo did not have the door to their 2nd bathroom installed for 2 weeks. They emailed the builder a couple of times but nothing was done. I assisted them in filing a formal complaint with Tarion, and a copy of the complaint was sent to the builder. The door was installed in the next few days after the complaint was filed). At closing, I co-ordinate with a real estate lawyer to make sure everything is in order. I will also look up your property at the Land Registry with the Ontario Government, independently of the builder.

g) During the entire pre-construction process, you never need to communicate directly with the builder (unless you want to)-I communicate on your behalf with the builder, making things easier and less stressful for you. The builder also routes all communication to you through me.

h) All these services are completely free of charge for you. My services are COMPLETELY FREE for buyers of all properties: pre-construction condos, resale condos, townhomes, homes, commercial properties, etc.

High-rise and low-rise condo prices relationship: Roughly speaking, all condo buildings which have less than 20 stories are low-rise; and all which have more than 20 stories are high-rise. When buying pre-construction or already constructed condos, it is important to remember that at (or around) the same location, low-rise condos will generally be more expensive than high-rise condos. This is because a) if you are in a low-rise building, your share of the ground which the building is built on is higher and b) high-rise buildings cost of construction (measured in per sq. ft) is lower than that of low-rise buildings, because of economies of scale in high rise structures-it costs less and less to put the next floor up. We can use this information to take advantage of market inefficiencies which will appear sometimes-we can negotiate better on prices of high-rise condos (because the developer's costs are lower) than low-rise condos. Also, in an area you would like to buy your condo in, if you see a low-rise condo building with prices similar to high-rise condo building, buy a condo in the low-rise building; it will appreciate faster in value. Note that rent value is not very sensitive to stories-average rent paid by renters in a particular area is about the same-whether the building be a low-rise or a high-rise (renters may pay slightly higher rent for higher storied apartments, but the extra rent is not statistically significant). If high maintenance fees are a concern for you, see Pre-Construction Townhouses GTA

In buying a pre-construction condo, have preferences, not requirements: One common problem I see with pre-construction condo buyers is that they are too narrow in their choices-which really makes them feel they are not getting their dream condo at the price they want. The reality is that condos are expensive objects, demand is high-and builders release condos in phases which limits your options in the building when you are working on a budget (if you had an unlimited amount of money you could get exactly what you want, but most of us are not in that situation...). If you think carefully about what you really want and break it down into preferences but not conditions, you will increase your options and make it easier for yourself, instead of chasing pre-construction properties all over town and getting disappointed always because you can't find the "right condo".

The most important factors which you are after in your purchase decision are: 1) Location 2) Floor for view etc. and Orientation, for view, Feng Shui, sunlight etc. You might have decided that you really do want to buy a property on Toronto's waterfront-which settles part 1, the Location, which should be by far the most important part of your preference. For the Floor and Orientation, because there might be limited availability and you are working with a budget, be ready to make compromises. You may really want that 25th floor property for it's excellent view, which is facing South and completes your requirement for excellent view and Feng Shui, but it may be beyond your price budget, so make an allowance on the view and go for an affordable property on Floor 3, also facing South, where at least you get the orientation and get the Feng Shui preference taken care of. The Location will dominate-if you get a decent property on the location you want, that's really 70% to 80% of your preference; get ready to compromise on Floor and Orientation if you can't get the right combination of  everything because of your budget or limited availability. In general, if you go with the idea of being flexible in your demands-you may even find some positive surprises and pay less than what you thought! Go with flexible preferences, not with strict requirements, when looking at pre-construction properties.

How much will my pre-construction condo investment appreciate in the coming years? This is probably the most frequently asked question to me. Condo values can be measured very broadly in per square feet prices, and as long as Toronto's population keeps growing, and the general trend towards living in condos vs. homes continues, condo values should keep appreciating. How much they will appreciate is anybody's guess-and while it is even possible that they may go down for a few years (there are ways around this-please download my free preconstruction condo buying guide to see how), a Metropolis like Toronto will always come back up. To wit, here is a graph of how they have done in the last decade, 2000 to 2010 (you want to look at the red line, for new condo prices per square foot, PSF prices). An appreciation of about 12% per year has been recorded, giving more weightage to recent years. Overall, your investment return for the last 10 years has been about 15% per year (assuming an additional 3% rental income return). This is just the mean return-intelligent investors (helped by good real estate agents!) have had gains of much higher than 15% per year. Additional data and statistics: GTA Condo Prices, 1996 to 2011, and Canadian Immigration, 2001 to 2010.

The mad rush for first launch purchases, are they worth it? This is another question which I am asked frequently. The answer is-it depends. While prices (per sq. ft) at first launch are generally lower than subsequent prices in the same building, they may or may not be a good buy in absolute terms when compared to other available options around the building. Couple this with limited availability in the first launch of floors and orientations (the builder may release floor 50 and floor 12, but you may want to be no higher than floor 8; or you may want a South facing suite, but they might all be gone), and you wonder what the madness is all about. You get some excellent deals throughout the pre-construction stage of a building-especially after the first few weeks-the builder's release the suites in stages and the best way to judge value, as investment arbitrage theory will tell you, is to compare the available options at that particular time, from all builders in your area of interest. In other words, do not rush in to buy the first launch without having at least a look at available options around the building, preferably by other builders-you will often times find a much better deal there. Do not forget to take into account the advantages of buying a condo coming up sooner in terms of the rent you can collect (the cash flow), as explained above.

When you buy a pre-construction condo through Rose, you are guaranteed that she will have your interest in her mind first. Because Rose works with many builders/developers at the same time, she has no interest in pushing any one developer or condo building to you-her job is to take care of your needs and preferences first. She will assist you in negotiating with the developer, negotiate directly on your behalf, and show you various pre-construction condo options in your area of interest, so you can compare prices and not overpay for a particular condo.

Download my free guide to buying a preconstruction condo in Toronto (.pdf format, 2 pages)

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See also: Downtown Toronto Condominiums        Etobicoke Condominiums

Condos for sale/Resale      Homes in GTA

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