Posts Tagged ‘condos’

Take a drive in downtown Toronto and you’re guaranteed to see two things: cranes and sandwich boards for condos!  Problem is, neither really tell you much about the projects they’re promoting.  Alas, a solution is here!

Homebuyers.com has just rolled out it’s user friendly iPhone and iPad app!  I downloaded the app today and took it for a test run to see how well it works.

The download from the app store was quick, seemless and took seconds to load!  The first step is to either sign-in under your Facebook or Email account.  I started by skipping, but I’d highly suggest doing so as more features are available once logged in.

After asking for your location, a “Google map” based screen loads up with your current location and near by pre construction projects! With a pinch or pull of the screen the user can zoom in or out from the given area. Pink and blue pins represent the different condos.  Each pin has a starting price of remaining units.

Clicking on a pin will take you to the individual listing of the building. It’s a very clean and simple layout that features a rendering of the building, starting price, mortgage caluculator, favorite button, priority registration, info, models (some contain floorplans and some renderings), current promotions, notes and contact button.

When the user clicks the star button the building get’s added to your “favourite list”.  The pin on the main screen is changed to yellow, this helps keep track of what you’ve seen and to narrow down the process.

The mortgage button is a handy addition to the app that gives the user 5 financing scenarios.  You can go into each option and customize the scenario.  Once done, you can email the results!  In future updates, a deposit calculator would also be helpful.

The descriptions of the buildings are short and concise, skipping all the normal broker babble and cutting straight to the goods!

The “models” and “promotions” tabs still require a lot of updating (at time of writting this). For some buildings, the “promotions” tab shows model suites and in others – floorplans.  A tab just for floorplans would be incredibly powerful.  Most promo tabs don’t have any specials listed, but as more builders take note of the app, I could see that changing.

The “My Notes” section does exactly what the name describes!  Users can take and store notes for each building.  You’ll need to have an email account activated in order to use this part of the app.

Lastly is the “contact” tab… users can email the developer directly from the app! The address and (sometimes) phone numbers are also listed under this section.

For an even quicker search you can narrow the criteria by a ton of variables such as location, price, type, bedrooms, square footage, status (coming soon, under construction, move-in now etc) and developer!

I was most impressed with how fast the app loaded.  Typically with map based apps there’s an annoying lag before the user can even start the search.  With the homebuyers.com app, you’re up and running right away! I love that the individual listing pages are so easily shareable through other social media sites like twitter and facebook.  In a time where developers are still creating incredibly hard to navigate websites, this app saves a ton of time getting you the info you want.  There’s even the option to sign up for priority registration… this will notify you when new projects open up to the public!

The only criticism I could offer about the app is that I didn’t really see the point of having a “regular” vs “featured listing” option but hopefully there’s a bigger plan for it down the road. Also, a few of the smaller builders were missing from the list and a couple of projects were not yet available. My small comments aside, For it’s first version I give the app 4 high-rises out of 5!

Download the app here: http://app.homebuyers.com/

The Sutton Place made it’s first major break into the mainstream news!  I first wrote about back in November then again in January. Yesterday, The Toronto Star’s Susan Pigg interviewed Barry Fenton from Lanterra Developments and unearthed a ton a juicy details on the project, it’s Hollywood history and it’s 102 year old renter!  Check out the article below:

It’s not often — not ever, really — that a condo developer gets to boast he’s not only snapped up one of the prime building sites in the city, but the piano bench graced by Liberace.

And don’t get Barry Fenton started on the bathtub where one of the world’s most beautiful women, Sophia Loren, soaked her worries away.

“I can’t keep it, unfortunately, but I saw it,” says the president and CEO of Lanterra Developments which yesterday announced it has bought Toronto’s landmark Sutton Place Hotel and will convert it into luxury condos.

Lanterra, perhaps best-known for its development of highrise condos and the boutique Hotel St. Germain in the once-barren Maple Leaf Square area, plans to resurface and renovate what used to be Toronto’s palace to Hollywood stars.

This is just the latest sign that Toronto’s film epicentre has now completely shifted south to King St.: Last month Cresford Development announced it’s converting the site of nearby Bistro 990, the beloved restaurant of the stars, into condos as well.

While plans are still being finalized, Lanterra hopes to add about nine storeys to the 33-storey Sutton Place, convert its 400 hotel rooms into up to 600 condo units and widen the footprint of the building at Bay and Wellesley Sts.

Where limos used to pull up and unload their precious cargo under the glare of cameras during what would become the Toronto International Film Festival, Lanterra plans to add restaurants and retail space while retaining many of the trademark — if dated — charms of the Sutton Place’s grand lobby.

Some 20 people who have rented suites in the hotel for years — one of them 102-years-old — will be relocated during construction and then returned after the work is done, said Fenton.

“Most times as developers we’re starting from scratch. It’s so exciting to find a project in the city, an iconic building, that you can help make even better,” said Fenton Wednesday.

“We like to be selective about our sites and you can’t get any better than this. It’s just yards from the downtown, from Yorkville and City Hall. And talk about being next to a park — you’re just a block away from Queen’s Park.

“If you were playing Monopoly, this would be like purchasing Boardwalk.”

Fenton, and Lanterra chairman Mark Mandelbaum are keenly aware, however, that this isn’t a game, but a key piece of Toronto and Hollywood history.

Which is why Fenton was fielding calls all day from friends and business associates grateful Lanterra plans to preserve the basics of the building that welcomed the likes of Michael Jackson, Robin Williams, and Loren to Hollywood North.

“We plan to keep a lot of the old theme, that British elegance from the ’70s, but add some modern elements to it,” says Fenton.

Lanterra is also considering adding a boutique hotel to the site, but is keenly aware that Toronto has seen a surge in five-star hotels — from the already opened Ritz-Carlton to the new Four Seasons slated to open later this year.

But as far as condos go, this is a rare find in the city, steps to the subway, shopping and the financial district.

The sales price won’t be disclosed until the deal finalizes in June, but Fenton ranked this No. 1 among the 10,000 condos Lanterra has built, from Liberty Village to its other Bay St. property Burano, slated to open later this year.

“Sutton Place is a very very famous complex. Even with all the rumblings that the market is slowing down — which I don’t believe — I think the market will welcome this project with open arms.” Read the rest of this entry »

I was driving down Davenport the other day, and noticed a massive ad for the South Hill Condos on Madison by the Burnac Group!

This project is the long awaited answer to the vacant land next to the Madison Lofts (also by the Burnac Group) pictured above. For years, the site has been sitting empty and boarded up.  There isn’t much info currently known about the project but at a community meeting back in October 2011 it was mentioned that the building is going for a proposed height of 21.95 m.

The Burnac Group is no stranger to the area having built and completed the incredible Madison Lofts directly south of the site.  It was here that they transformed an old hydro building into a collection of unique hard loft spaces.

South Hill Condos will sit at the base of Casa Loma and have the Dupont subway station literally minutes away.  A brand new eco park is also in the works for the are and will be developed on the vacant parking lot to the south of Macpherson!

Read the rest of this entry »

Like the chicken and the egg, the Realtor and the Mortgage broker are fundamentally connected! Regardless of who you call first, the financing has to be in place before the shopping can begin.  Mortgages aren’t something I talk much about on the blog, because I believe there’s a lot of other people who cover it better… say for example – mortgage brokers!

Last week I came across a tweet from @MortgageJake which warned of CMHC nearing it’s limit.  For those unfamiliar with what CMHC is, here’s a quick lesson:

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is Canada’s national housing agency. Established as a government-owned corporation in 1946 to address Canada’s post-war housing shortage, the agency has grown into a major national institution. CMHC is Canada’s premier provider of mortgage loan insurance, mortgage-backed securities, housing policy and programs, and housing research.

Their most common use in a real estate transaction is insuring mortgages where less than 20% down-payment is given… and speaking from my own experiences, something many first-time buyers bank on using.  So hearing that they’re nearing their allotted peak is somewhat alarming!

Here’s what Jake had to say about it on his mortgage blog:

Good Morning!

I get the BNN market commentary email every day and it has a slew of great info both economically and with respect to the various markets at play. This morning I nearly spilled my tea when I read the following:

The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation is bumping its head up against the ceiling and may need to apply for renovations to its $600-billion mortgage insurance cap. The Financial Post reports this morning that the CMHC is cutting back on the number of mortgages it insures as the value of its portfolio swells towards the limit of its government-backed mandate. And by government-backed, I mean tax-payer backed, by which I mean you and me. With debate still not settled over whether the Canadian housing market is a bubble, a balloon, or merely a little bloated, Canadians will be talking about this story today and asking about the risks of a $600-billion portfolio going suddenly bad and what it would mean for them. Granted, mortgage defaults in Canada sit at a puny 1 percent so the risk to the portfolio is next to nothing, but what happens when the CMHC hits the $600-billion limit? Would the government say “no” to a request to increase it, running the risk of killing a booming housing market? Can the CMHC change its business a bit to stay under the cap, say stop insuring loans with more than 20 percent equity? Calls for comment are in to the CMHC.

This is simply insane news. A number of things may happen in this case, one of which I am already seeing:

1. CMHC will cut back on the number of loans it insures. Although traditionally the lender ratios are maxed at 44/44, I have seen numerous files declined by CMHC at this max ratio.

2. The Government will not open the taps for a higher limit, thus killing many CMHC applications, and thus many turn-downs for your clients. This can have a drastic effect if you’re going “all-in” with no conditions.

3. GENWORTH and CANADA GUARANTY stand to profit big-time if #2 occurs. They are both direct competitors to CMHC and do not operate under the Federal Government, but rather are privately-run or publicly-owned companies. I have placed a call to my Genworth rep to see if they also operate under a ceiling, and how close they are.

What’s my take on this?

This is just another example of a housing market that is… dare I say… overheating. As long as rates remain this low, people will feel that affordability is within their grasp (even as prices continue to zoom upwards). What I’m more concerned about is what will happen when rates go up at renewal time? I wrote about it in my blog and you may be surprised to find out that many people will face higher payments.

It’s hard to say what will eventually come out of it, so at this time I’d like to ask your opinion on where you think the Canadian Real Estate market is:

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The east end of Toronto’s waterfront is rapidly changing!  Once finished, Pier 27 will be a predominate jewel on the condo crown that outlines the waterfront… but those days are still a while away, so until then let’s look at what Cityzen Developments has built thus far! Below is an update (with photos) from their official blog:

Though it may not look luxurious now, Pier 27 will be screaming prestige at Yonge and Lakeshore in the future.

We visited the Toronto Waterfront site late last week and the progress made since our last visit this past November has been substantial to say the least!

With many different crews on site at the moment, things are going well, especially with the weather.

Work has progressed up to the 7th floor on buidling B1, and up to floor 4 in building B2.

Phase 3 of Pier 27 is currently undergoing approvals, and we hope to bring the project to market in the near future. 

A view of the Pier 27 site from the 20th floor of L Tower.

A new model suite is coming to the sales centre, and we hope to have it ready for viewing this spring.

Stay tuned for the latest updates on Pier 27 and many more of our projects. Got a question? Tweet to us or catch us on Facebook. Read the rest of this entry »

As I first wrote back in December, Symmetry Developments has a brand new condo/loft in the works!  At the time all we had to work with was a rough preliminary rendering … but now we have a much more refined image (pictured above), a name to call this gorgeous structure, and even an address!

Very much true to it’s design, the loft will be called Origami and will be built at 202 Bathurst St. just north of Queen.  The opening of CB2 is a further testament to the changes happening in the area and a clear indicator of the transitions taking place!

In a move similar to their Hive Lofts in Etobicoke, Symmetry has brought Teeple Architects back to design Origami.  I especially like the way the penthouses appear to be floating above the building, and the large “202″ at the base of the building.  It serves as functional component to the structure, as well as a topographical one for those living at the lofts!

The latest from Sayf is that they’re still tweaking the design and should have an even awesome-r rendering in the coming weeks!

Read the rest of this entry »

The New Year is bringing good news to the residents of Murano’s north and south towers! According to a posting in their elevators, Lanterra is hoping to have the installation of the new balconies underway by the second week of January (weather permitted).  The two towers will be worked on simultaneously!