City
Condo-Mania: Agents Line Up For Condos At College Park
Here we go again. After the well documented insanity that was the broker's sales event for 1 Bloor, I should not have been surprised when the line up for sales at downtown's newest entry into the Tallest Tower in Toronto Contest started a full 2 weeks before the actual sales event.
Aura is a proposed 75 storey condo tower that will rise at Yonge and Gerrard. Representing the third phase of the College Park Residences development, it has had many people in the industry buzzing for months.
For those with a short memory, the line up for units at 1 Bloor in November 2007 also started about 2 weeks or so before the broker's sales event. The apparently endless supply of potential buyers combined with a national media storm covering the event resulted in the developer in that case announcing that they were raising the prices by 25-50% on each unit just moments before the sales event started.
The whole experience left buyers and agents alike with such a foul taste that many vowed never again to take part in such a ludicrous charade, but less than four months later, it's deja vu all over again.
(Note: when the photo above was taken, the members of the line up were on their daily break. They must check in every 3 hours and do a role call to keep their spot in line.)
Andrew la Fleur is a registered real estate agent and regular contributor of blogTO.
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but instead they selfishly wait in line to buy a independent box in a tower that will be built with shitty materials, put a tremendous weight on the infrastructure, and detract from the city. the toronto cycle continues...
Scaremongerers...
The public sidewalk is usually only a fraction of the actual sidewalk space. I don't know what the case is here of course.....
At $400-$600 a square foot. I don't think so. This is all a big publicity scam. Trust me.
These people waiting in lawn chairs though, that's another story.
Spire will probably put them to shame.
http://www.toronto-condos.net
The units are drafty and cold in winter (it's all glass remember). They're badly designed (the air vents blow right on you in the living rooms and bedrooms), the bathrooms didn't take into account that there should be space allocated for towel racks. The heating/air conditioner units were not working in many units and the management had to send around flyers with instructions on how to fix the problem, the air vents in the hallways are incredibly loud, there is such a strong current from the hallways that if I leave my unit door open for a moment, it slams shut (pretty dangerous fire hazard!!), the intercom seems to break down about once a week. Etc, etc, etc. The building isn't even 6 months old.
This is the last time I ever buy a condo from a plan. Next time I'm going to make sure the building isn't falling apart by waiting until it's actually built before I buy.
Aura is great location if you prefer the downtown core, otherwise you do have many other options, and I don't see the need to lineup there unless you must live or invest at Yonge/College. I personally wouldn't bother lining up, as a week after each of these openings I get emails and faxes of contracts looking for new owners, at best prices possible.
As for the $PSF: downtown studios now go for $500 ($250,000 for a 500 sq. ft), and 1+den will fetch $400-$450.
That's the reality of open market, supply vs. demand we live in. As long as there are buyers developers will try and get the highest possible price for their condos.
The only problem is, that you cannot possibly save fast enough to beat the upswing rates of Toronto Real Estate. On average we have seen 7% gain in the GTA over the past decade, or double your investment every 7-8 years.
I've written a few articles about it, if anyone is interested, you may visit
http://UrbanRealty.ca
- Yossi.
Next purchase hire a professional like Andrew or myself.
We are well aware of builders' reputation and past performances, and I share that information with my clients, so they can make an intelligent and knowledgable purchase.
Buying from plans is a great way to make money... but you must have all the information required first (and that's not available on websites).
you are right.. that's why I rented a place in the building I wanted to buy, lived there for a year, then bought.. coz this way you know exactly the type of neighbors you are going to have and see for yourself if the builder is responsive.. even agents cannot tell you that if they are eager to close the deal
I don't think this line up is a scam but it's a very deceiving marketing strategy. maybe it's time for some homeless people to sleep in the line and some dumb dumb can pay them money for their spots.
Who are you kidding? Stop trying to pimp out your "services" every chance you get. For one, there are spelling errors all over your website. How professional could you possibly be? Second, on the website you posted above you've got an article detailing the "10 best condos" to purchase in the city. And number 2 is a Cityplace building!!! That entire development is one of the most irresponsible projects the city has approved and will be the equivalent of St. James Place 20 years from now. You only listed buildings you've been hired to sell so even writing that for potential buyers to see is irresponsible and unprofessional on your part (but I guess that is the breed). If you legitimately think the choices you've picked are the best buildings in the city, then you've just got no clue.
Anyway besides the obvious flaws I see in your professionalism and ethics, lets discuss your last post. Basically telling DL if he had bought through a "professional" like yourself, he wouldn't be in the mess he's in because you know the builders reputation.
Well just for fun, I'd like you to tell me the reputation the builder of Spire (Context) has and why you would have led him away from that purchase?
Having bought a condo from plans myself in a retrofit building I experienced WAY more than my fair share of problems (mould, lawsuits, stuff not finished, etc.). Believe me the problems you're experiencing are typical of a new building and will be rectified by the builder via the Tarion warranty.
Regarding the HVAC vents in your unit blowing on you, you are aware that those louvers are adjustable, right?
The air currents in the hallways behave like that precisely because it's designed that way per the building code. It creates negative pressure, so that if there's a fire in someone's unit the fire and smoke are kept from spreading out the door to other units.
I think waiting 3 months for an elevator repair is ridiculous though.
Hang tight - once your board of directors and property management get a handle on things and get the warranty issues address things will get better. It's a very desirable building and on paper at least you've made a mint!
We appreciate your concerns. The editors of blogTO are aware of Yossi's comment behaviour and find that he's not in violation of our existing policies. If his self-promotional linking becomes excessive or inappropriate, we'll deal with things as we see fit at that time.
Regards,
Jerrold Litwinenko
Associate Editor, blogTO
I have my real estate license but I'm no agent. Why? Because people like Yossi give agents a horrible name. He's uninformed, unintelligent, unprofessional, and immoral. I can tell all those things by a couple little posts and his cheesy website. But like I said, this is the breed for the most part which is a shame for buyers and sellers who aren't fully informed about the business.
Any clients who use him I urge you to proceed with caution. This guy is a snake oil salesman who will do or say anything to make his commission.
Yossi for the record, Context is one of the most reputable builders in the city, and I'd argue one of the best. They've won project of the year before, all of their projects get acclaim (ask Christopher Hume what he thinks of them), they use top quality architects, and most importantly feel they have a responsibility to the city to not build crap. I'd do your research before you try to pimp yourself out. Otherwise you just sound stupid.
In the end unfortunately Blog TO will suffer as the site's credibility and reputation will suffer and your readers will stop reading.
A bird in the hand Danielle...youth is wasted on the young.
I was referring to the 'investor' fools who are boasting of their paper gains.
I could care less whether the building is occupied with blacks, whites, asians, hispanics, africans, or aliens. In fact I prefer the colour of diversity! All are welcome in this incredible, ethically diverse and tolerant society that makes Toronto the envy of many. The problem is that this is guaranteed to be an investor-dominated (read: transient, non-owner occupied) building and therefore will be vulnerable to wild volatility in value. Prices here will fluctuate dramatically with the rampant speculation that it attracts. Whenever owners aren't end users problems arise.
Just ask the developers in Miami!
"Changing the address to accommodate one specific ethnic culture appears to run contrary to the widespread principals of tolerance and diversity that have shaped this city"... a lot of buildings don't have 13th floor or unit 13, could you explain?
It's strange to have this notion that all Asian people are obsessed with numbers. Personally, I don't really pay much attention to it. There was a man in my building who had an elevator conversation with me, asking me why so many Asians lived in the building. I don't know if I should've been offended or not? He then asked if it was because of numbers. I just told him if he liked living in a new building, so does everyone else.
As I told you, 444 is 3-of-a-kind and therefore widely perceived to be good luck as well as catchy and easy to remember. I think that in a small way it adds cache to the building. 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan recently sold for a record amount. No, it's not the only reason of course but the address is easily ingrained in one's mind as 444 Yonge Street would be no doubt.
I have no problem adding a 13th floor to new buildings either. It's a silly superstition although it is a North America one as opposed to an Asian one.
This is North America after all, not Asia! I say bring on people from all cultures, all countries, all races, all planets. But Toronto should not be going so far as to have a municipal address changed to accommodate one potential class of buyers. To me that is a very silly reaction.
All things being equal, the municipal address is what it is- if you don't like the number '444' then tell you friends you live in the Aura building.