Who doesn't love keeping their fingers on the pulse of Toronto's real estate happenings, with the market so robust and full of energy. Here are 25 Twitter and Instagram accounts to follow to get you closer to the action.
You are what you eat — but you’re probably also what you consume every day, all day, in your online “feeds.” Perhaps now, you are what you retweet.
To that end, Toronto Storeys collected a wide variety of Twitter (and some Instagram) accounts to put on your daily sampling plate. Toronto and real estate lovers — bon appetit!
MEATY — fact, opinion, substance; occasionally spiced with humour
1. Where to start? Well, Jennifer Keesmaat, obviously. Toronto’s chief planner is also a formidable, well-connected Twitter force who wields her power judiciously.
2. Cherise Burda, executive director of Ryerson’s City Building Institute, keeps your timeline full of charts, maps, graphs and real estate features. Frequent tweeter with zero filler.
3. Mike Collins-Williams, policy director at the Ontario Home Builders’ Association, tweets housing issues, politics and local content. Attends the meetings, shakes the hands.
4. Ken Greenberg, a high-level urban expert and consultant with a global perspective, shares interesting think pieces about everything that makes a city great, at home and abroad.
5. Andrea Oppedisano, urban planner for the city, tweets about housing — particularly for families and children in “vertical communities,” via the #growingupTO hashtag. A bit of daily life tossed in for seasoning.
6. Alex Mather, government communications staffer, tweets housing/architecture/neighbourhood tidbits, with a side of transit/transportation/cycling. Uncensored.
7. Mackenzie Keast, PR for Lifetime Developments, delivers amusing quips that are (at least half the time) about real estate, housing and urban issues.
We love our city's parks, and we love how devoted Toronto's self-proclaimed "professional park nerd" Jake Tobin Garrett is to the cause. (Photo by Fabiano Rebeque)
SIDES — quirky bits to add some flavour
8. Bob Georgiou, local city and archive buff, describes himself as a “Toronto enthusiast.” Tweets unique, thoughtful items that you don’t see elsewhere.
9. Jake Tobin Garrett is into parks. And if you follow him, you will be too.
VEGGIES — important to get a daily dose
10. REMI Network, a news service catering to the real estate management industry, covers topics such as facilities, maintenance, construction, finance, commercial real estate, markets, regulations, zoning, and so on. Useful intel for those who build and manage buildings.
11. Urban Toronto tweets a lot of condo and new-build news, with project of the day and photo of the day to keep your eyes entertained.
12. BuzzBuzzHome is an all-things-real-estate digital media portal that reports on new builds, architecture, home decor ideas and industry news, as well as issues affecting real estate buyers and sellers. BuzzBuzz keeps its bases covered with writers based in NYC, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver.
Lululemon's Queen Street West store — and Toronto — are immortalized on Quadrangle Architects' Instagram feed.
DESSERT — eye candy for everyone
Hop over to Instagram for your daily dose:
13. Azure Magazine, based in Toronto, is a must-follow for anyone obsessed with beautiful, functional, intelligent design.
14. Quadrangle Architects delivers eye-catching architecture and local skylines, with lots of friendly faces and cultural or industry events. Also, these people love Escape Rooms. Seriously.
15. Mason Studio in a handful of words: grey, angular, minimalist, exposed concrete. Their Instagram feed offers up cool white spaces with elegant details — and then, randomly, six people dressed as Doritos.
16. U31 will be a favourite follow if you love stunning interiors and splashes of local Toronto scenes. Sumptuous variety of fresh, modern and occasionally edgy designs.
17. MSDS Studio combines striking inspiration with down-to-earth accessibility — nothing feels out of reach on their feed. Occasional snaps of real life make them feel like friends. Really cool friends.
18. Diamond Schmitt Architects boasts exceptional exteriors and glossy renderings for some of the biggest projects in Toronto and beyond. Truly one to watch.
19. Old Toronto showcases a sprinkling of history, with awe-inspiring photos predominantly from the grand City Archives depicting Toronto then. It's incredible to see this city’s transformation, and incredible to think how much more change is yet to come.
20. Alex Arnott Design’s Instagram makes you feel right at home. Functional, warm, accessible, earthy — you’ll want to stay a while. The before-and-after pics amaze.
21. Palmerston Design adores pattern and colour splashed throughout crisp white spaces. A perfect follow for inspiration for your own home.
(Photo courtesy of Jac Jacobson/Interior by U31 Design)
JUST THE BONES — the builders
Keep up with these major GTA developers and builders for project updates and occasional local tidbits — yes, mostly condo content:
22. Minto's Twitter feed gives you warm ’n’ fuzzy feelings with “breaking ground” and “move in” pics from their projects, offering a peek at real employees and real customers. Helpful decor and lifestyle tips, as well as general housing and project news, round out the rest of their timeline.
23. Menkes offers up market news, tidbits about past and future projects, and occasional awards or interesting endeavours. Did you see the Banksy restoration?
24. CentreCourt boasts a nice mix of project updates, local content and decor tips — always accompanied with stylish, eye-catching art.
25. Tridel tweets project and construction updates, interspersed with local and national housing news. Helpful videos, such as their “Tridel Maintenance Minute” and “Condo Talk” series, are a nice touch.
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