Affordable condos
From waived fees to free upgrades, condo builders may be offering the only good deals to be had in the GTA
Before her April visit to the Galleria on the Park presentation centre at Dupont and Dufferin, Jennifer Freeman considered herself among the 39 per cent of Ontario non-homeowners under the age of 40 who, according to a new RBC survey, had “given up on the dream of owning a home.”
But that resignation shifted when the Galleria made its pitch. Purchasers of twoand three-bedroom suites in ELAD Canada’s 31-storey Galleria III building were being offered two years of free maintenance fees — valued on the top end at $20,000 — covering amenities such as a co-working lounge, swimming pool and reservable outdoor dining, along with a finance structure that would spread a 20 per cent deposit over four and a half years in five per cent increments.
“Ten per cent by the end of the year I can do,” the thirtysomething nurse says, adding that the free maintenance “would ease some of the financial pressure if and when I move in.”
Freeman says she would prefer to buy her first home sooner rather than later, and she isn’t alone. More than 70 per cent of Ontario-based RBC survey respondents believe the majority of Canadians will be priced out of the housing market in the next decade.
This belief is well-founded in the GTA, where residential real estate experienced record activity in 2020 and early 2021.
Affordability deteriorated in 2020 in all but one category: New condo listings far outstripped growth in sales, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reports, with the segment experiencing the slowest pace of average price growth in 2020 (at 7.1 per cent). While buyer confidence in the condo market has improved in 2021, with year-over-year sales up nearly 80 per cent in the first quarter, average selling prices remain below pre-pandemic levels.
In short, the condo market is the least hot of Toronto’s scorching housing segments. This explains sales incentives at Galleria III, and the many other Toronto condo projects offering capped development charges, waived assignment fees and incremental deposit structures. While these incentives have become commonplace, those listed below represent more aggressive and creative bids to draw reluctant buyers back to the market.
DISCOUNTED SUITES
❚ The address: Canary House Condos, 475 Front St. E. at Cherry Street
❚ The offer: Dream Development is knocking $10,000 off the price of one-bedroom and one-bedroom-plus-den suites, and $20,000 off suites two-bedroom and larger, in this 13-storey project, part of a 35-acre master-planned community.
❚ Starting prices: The low $700,000s
❚ Occupancy: May 2024
❚ Info: https://www.canarydistrict.com/
DISCOUNTED PARKING
❚ The address: Elle Condos, on the corner of Ellesmere and Brimley in Scarborough ❚ The offer: A parking spot under this 15-storey building by ikore overlooking West Highland Creek is going for $35,000, a $15,000 discount on its regular rate.
❚ Starting prices: $499,000
❚ Occupancy: May 2024
❚ Info: https://ellecondos. com/
PRIVATE DOUBLE GARAGE ACCESS
❚ The address: One Delisle Condos, 1 Delisle Ave. at Yonge
❚ The offer: As well as knocking $19,000 off the cost of $179,000 parking spots for owners of suites 850 square feet and larger at this upscale property, Slate Asset Management is offering private double garage parking with the purchase of a penthouse suite.
❚ Starting prices: Low $900,000s
❚ Occupancy: Summer 2026 ❚ Info: https://onedelisle. com/
DISCOUNTED WI-FI
❚ The address: The Oscar Residences, 500 Dupont St. at Bathurst
❚ The offer: Lifetime Developments is offering discounted Bell Fibe highspeed internet at $25 per month for residents of this nine-storey project near Casa Loma.
❚ Starting prices: Low $500,000s
❚ Occupancy: Fall 2023
❚ Info: https://oscarresidences.com/
FREE UPGRADES
❚ The address: Perch Condos, 4694 Kingston Rd. at Lawrence ❚ The offer: A kitchen island valued at $5,000 in one-, two- and three-bedroom suites is being offered as a freebie at this 12-storey east end build by Firmland Development overlooking the Highland Creek ravine.
❚ Starting prices: High $400,000s
❚ Occupancy: August 2023
❚ Info: https://perchcondos. com/
BULKED-UP DOWN PAYMENTS
❚ The address: The Humber Condos, 10 Wilby Crescent at Weston Road
❚ The offer: For 25 years, the developer Options for Homes has offered down payment loans for up to 15 per cent of the purchase price of a unit in one of their buildings. (Buyers kick in five per cent of their own money.) The lower barrier to entry helps purchasers secure conventional mortgages, reduce carrying costs and avoid paying mortgage loan insurance. (The loan gets repaid when the buyer sells or moves.) Now, the developer is offering an additional five per cent to families of two or more buying into The Humber Condos, a 22-storey building that overlooks its namesake river. That would help buyers bring the down payment up to as much as 25 per cent of the purchase price of a two- or three-bedroom suite.
❚ Starting prices: Low $600,000s
❚ Occupancy: Winter 2021
❚ Info: https://www.optionsforhomes.ca