Condo buyers are rekindling their love affair with the lake
National Post
Published: Friday, June 06, 2008
After a two-decade time-out, waterfront condominiums have become hotter than Susur Lee's grills, and from Cobourg in the east to Bronte Creek on the western border of Oakville there are a lot more yet to come.
So, what is the lure? Simple, waterfront condos pack a one-two-three punch, say experts like Hunter Milborne. As a broker he was involved with the marketing and sales of the city's first major central waterfront development - 33 Harbour Square in 1976. He even lived there for 15 years.
"The simple fact is that waterfront property is limited and therefore a rare commodity," he says. "Once it is gone, it is gone and that creates enormous lasting value."
"The simple fact is that waterfront property is limited and therefore a rare commodity," he says. "Once it is gone, it is gone and that creates enormous lasting value."
Second is the esthetic quality combined with lifestyle
"Who doesn't love being able to look out their windows and see the water?" asks Barbara Lawlor, president of Baker Real Estate Corp. Her company has a trio of waterfront properties on the go: The Shores on Bronte Creek in Oakville, LTD at the foot of Bathurst Street and the new Market Wharf project on Jarvis below the St. Lawrence Market. "Then there is the added bonus of easy access to both the lake and its miles of shore to walk, swim, boat, relax and in some cases jog, bike and roller blade."
The third reason is a combination of reasonably affordable prices and continuing value, says Jane Renwick, executive vice-president of market research firm Urbanation Inc.
She points out that demand for waterfront condos continues to drive prices higher and higher. For example, 111 Forsythe in Oakville started selling at an average price of $761 a square foot and now sells at $867. The five projects now on sale in the Harbourfront area started selling at an average of $445 a square foot and now command an average of $510. In Etobicoke, projects started sale at $414 and are now up to $496 a foot.
"If you look at the original Harbour Square condos - 33, 55 and 65 Harbour Square - you will find that those suites facing the water now command 50% to 60% higher resale prices than those facing the city," says Mr. Milborne.
That dramatic water-view premium is starting to change, however, says Barry Lyon of N. Barry Lyon Consulting Ltd. "More recently we are finding that the differential between lake and city views is coming down,"he says. "Buyers are finding the charm of an ever changing cityscape. The lifestyle and rarity of waterfront properties is playing an increasing role whatever the views."
Experts agree that in most cities situated on oceans, lakes or rivers, properties that offer dramatic water views always seem to command the highest prices. They cite Manhattan and London's Canary Wharf as prime examples.
Toronto, however, has been distinctly different to date, says Mr. Lyon. In this city it is the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood that has been the focus of $1,000-a-foot and up luxury projects. "That is because of the unique mix of attractions the area offers," he says.
At the same time, our waterfront properties have appealed to a different target market. Bloor-Yorkville is largely for 50-plus, wealthy, empty-nesters looking for the last home they will likely ever own and a neighbourhood that perfectly suits that retirement lifestyle, he says. Waterfront condos, however, attract a much broader range of ages and pocketbooks; what binds them together is an active lifestyle.
"These are properties that have equal appeal for active 20-year-olds and active 60-year-olds," says Mr. Milborne. "It is all about the views, the lifestyle and the value."
Perhaps surprising because of the buzz associated with waterfront projects in the GTA, there are at the moment only eight that are actively being sold, says Ms. Renwick. They include 111 Forsythe on the bank of 16 Mile Creek in west Oakville, one tower each at Waterview and Beyond the Sea on Lakeshore Boulevard just east of Park Lawn Road in Etobicoke and five in the Harbourfront area - one tower at Waterplace, QuayWest on the site of the former Tip Top Tailors Building near Lakeshore and Bathurst, LTD, just north along Bathurst from Fleet Street and the two phases of Pier 27 just east of the foot of Yonge Street. Pier 27 is the only project directly on the water.
Sales have been brisk at all of the projects, Ms. Renwick says: "I believe LTD, for example, has sold 37% of the units since October." Just eight today but at least half a dozen more by the end of the year, adds Mr. Lyon. There is a certain inevitability to more waterfront condos, he says.
"The demand is there and not just in central Toronto. Life on the water or life with great views of the water is the goal of a very great number of people. The industry is now at the stage where it is able to meet that need."