Today we're going through the three things that you need to avoid when buying a condo in Toronto.
My name is Rochelle and I'm a local real estate agent here in Toronto and the greater Toronto area. And every day I help people just like you and you, and you, and you, and you make the move to Toronto. And so if you are thinking of moving here yourself, then give me a shout. All of my contact is down below.
You can gimme a call, shoot me a text, send me an email, or even schedule a Zoom. Call all down in the description below, and I would love to help you make that smooth move to Toronto.
At the time of this recording, it is springtime, which is the busiest time of the year for real estate. This month specifically, we've really seen the market start to heat up. We've seen the average price of a home in the greater Toronto area creep up towards the one and a half. Half million dollar mark, and we're also seeing a lot more sellers entering the market motivated by the idea of getting a few extra thousand dollars for their homes.
At the same time, we're also seeing a lot of buyers entering the market as well. Toronto is big on immigration, and so we've seen huge population growth recently. Plus consumer confidence is up with a lot of Torontonians looking to purchase a home this year.
For The biggest reason that we're seeing an increase in the demand for housing is because of extremely high rental rates in the rental market. A lot of potential buyers are seeing that the cost of renting is pretty much close to the cost of a mortgage on a condo, and so we're seeing a lot more. First time home buyers, specifically entering the housing market, specifically the condo market.
And as more and more buyers enter the condo market, we're gonna see the prices of condos go up.
That brings me to my first mistake you want to avoid, which is waiting for prices to fall before buying. The prices of condos are expected to increase as we make our way throughout the year. Right now, we're seeing a lot of competition between buyers. Bidding boards are common part of the buying process, and that's driving the prices of condos up even more.
But now that we know where Toronto prices are going, the. The next thing you wanna know is how much a Toronto condo's worth Anyways, as a general rule of thumb, Toronto condos are about a thousand dollars per square foot. The average condo in Toronto is about 700 square feet, and the average price of a condo is $700,000.
However, there are other major factors that could affect a condo's price. For example, what floor the unit is on. The higher the floor, the more expensive, if you have a view, views can be extremely valuable, especially if you have a view of Lake Ontario or the Sea Tower Location on the floor matters whether you're an interior unit or in the corner or in front of the elevator.
And of course, location of the actual building is extremely influential downtown close to the Sea Tower along the waterfront, and near Toronto's popular tourist attractions like the Distillery District and St. Lawrence Market are prime spots for some of the city's most premium condos. But one of the most important yet overlooked factors affecting a Toronto condo's price are the building's maintenance.
Fees, and this is the second thing you wanna avoid when buying a condo in Toronto is not understanding the associated condo fees. Why you pay them and what they're for. As a condo owner, not only do you own your unit, but you also own a percentage of things that you share with other unit owners in the building.
Things like the elevators. The hallways, the lobby, the gym, whatever, amenities, these are called common elements, and your condo fees go toward paying for your common elements.
So how much are condo fees? Condo fees vary across the board, but generally the older the building, the higher your condo fees. And that's because as buildings age, the roof needs replaced, the lobby needs updated, things need to be serviced, and so you need more money to cover those items. Generally, the more facilities and staff at the building has, and the higher your condo fees, because having security and concierge is really nice.
And so is having a pool, but these things don't come cheap. And the third thing that will drive up your condo prices typically are when you have a smaller building. And that just comes down to basic math because if you are dividing, say your concierge salary, Between 30 people or 60 people even as opposed to 300 people in a building, then everybody's portion of that cost goes up.
As a rule of thumb, Toronto condos are about 75 to 85 cents per square foot, and so a 700 square foot condo, for example, would be about $525.
The third thing that you wanna avoid is not properly understanding the terms of your purchase of agreement in sale, which is your official contract that you sign when you make an offer to purchase a condo. So in Ontario, a condo contract is different from a non-con contract, so it's really important to understand the differences between these.
For example, a condo contract will go into depth about parking. So when you do per. Just a condo unit, it may or may not come with parking. So if it doesn't, but you need one, then you've gotta be prepared to spend about $50,000 because that's the average price of a space downtown. If you do have parking included, you do need to confirm whether it is assigned exclusive or owned, because those all impact your ability to use it now as well as your ability to sell it in the future if you wanted to.
Another item you wanna be mindful of when purchasing a condo is the unit status certificate. So ev. Condo has a condo corporation, which is made up of unit owners in that building. And when you purchase a condo, your unit comes with its own status certificate that basically tells you the rules regarding your unit.
So for example, whether you're able to have pets, any restrictions on that, or if you're allowed to Airbnb your unit. And it also outlines the financial and legal health of your condo corporation. For example, how much money is in the reserve fund, if there are any liens on the unit or if there are any special assessments that you should be aware of.
Your lawyer will scan the status certificate to see if there are any red flags that you should be aware of, but it is really important that you are able to get your hands on this document yourself, just so that you can get all of the data that you need to make an informed decision about purchasing or putting in an offer on that condo that you're interested in.
By the way, I always help my clients get their hands on their status certificate, so give me a shout right now. If you are planning on buying your next condo here in Toronto, I would love to help you out. Also, if you are getting value out of this video. You then please don't forget to give me a thumbs up and also subscribe to the channel so that you are the first to know about all of my tips, tricks, and mistakes to avoid when purchasing or selling your next property here.
So there you have it. Those are the top three mistakes that you wanna avoid when purchasing a condo in Toronto. If you happen to be purchasing a condo outside of the city Core, then make sure to check out this video, which rhymes off all of the top areas across the greater Toronto area, but specifically a Toko Scarborough.
And North York, and it just outlines those areas in more detail so you get a better feel for what those parts of Toronto have to offer. If you liked this video, then please give me a thumbs up and also subscribe to the channel so that you don't miss out on all things Toronto. I'm talking about eating in Toronto, living in Toronto, working, sleeping, playing in Toronto.
Again, my name is Roal. I'm a local real estate agent across the greater Toronto area. And if you're looking to purchase or sell your next home here in Toronto or anywhere in the gta, then gimme a shout. All of my contact information is down below. You can gimme a call, shoot me a text, send me an email, or even schedule a Zoom.
Call all down in the description below. I would love to help you and your family make that smooth move to or outside of Toronto. Thank you guys all so much for watching. I'll catch you in the next video. Take care.
