This article was written by Barbara Lawlor, CEO of Baker Real Estate Incorporated, and first appeared on their company blog.
It’s a well-known truth that good news travels fast, but bad news travels even faster. And in an intensely competitive and fragmented media/social media landscape, the constant fight for attention can lead to some problematic results. Problematic, at least, for those who care about the facts of any matter.
This was the case with a recent BlogTO article. The online piece carried the headline: “Hardly anybody is buying condos in downtown Toronto anymore.”
When my jaw, which had dropped pretty dramatically, was finally restored to its natural position, I really felt the need to set the record straight.
At Baker Real Estate, we have been extremely busy selling new condominiums throughout the pandemic, including this year. According to Altus Group statistics, in April, of the 3,619 condos sold in the GTA, 1,390 were in Toronto. Overall, GTA condo sales were the highest since 2000 and 69 per cent above the 10-year average. The previous month, we saw the second-highest March for new condo sales in the GTA since 2000 (up 11 per cent from March 2020 and 42 per cent above the 10-year average). That month, 2,324 of the 3,297 condos sold in the GTA were in Toronto. Even in February, when new home and condo sales were down from the previous month for both low-rise and high-rise, they were on track with the 10-year average.
Keep in mind that February 2020 set sales records. That was just before COVID made the scene. It resulted in far fewer condo launches last year, as well as many Toronto residents moving to the suburbs to work from home.
So, what’s the point? Condo inventory is low, mortgage interest rates are unbelievably low, pent-up demand is high, and people are buying condos in Toronto. This trend will increase once immigration is opened up fully. A great number will choose to settle in Toronto and will seek apartment-style living. Plus, there are always “city people” – those who thrive on the pulse of intensely urban surroundings. There’s no question that the buzz is already starting to build around the return to the attractions of the downtown lifestyle.
In other words, the condo story is a strong one. That is, if you actually have the facts!
