Where a Billionaire Used To Live
$25,000,000 million. Interested? Call me.
THE LISTING:
http://v3.torontomls.net/Live/Pages/Public/Link.aspx?Key=3c8f2388bdf94e2583c1a762f7c71349&App=TREB
http://mls-spotlight.agentshowing.com/rkuitm
Buying, Selling, Leasing or Investing in real estate is sometimes a complex undertaking. Hiring me, a real estate professional will help save you time and money. steven@maislin.com
HOT on TREB
(Highest On Toronto Real Estate Board)
Where a Billionaire Used To Live
$25,000,000 million. Interested? Call me.
THE LISTING:
http://v3.torontomls.net/Live/Pages/Public/Link.aspx?Key=3c8f2388bdf94e2583c1a762f7c71349&App=TREB
http://mls-spotlight.agentshowing.com/rkuitm
Where a Billionaire Used To Live
$25,000,000 million. Interested? Call me.
THE LISTING:
http://v3.torontomls.net/Live/Pages/Public/Link.aspx?Key=3c8f2388bdf94e2583c1a762f7c71349&App=TREB
http://mls-spotlight.agentshowing.com/rkuitm
Why I Love The Annex T.O.
The Annex near Bloor Street and Spadina Avenue is one of Toronto’s most sought after neighbourhoods. From lattes at the Green Beanery to all-you-can-eat sushi to froyo overload at Menchies, the neighbourhood comes alive with its passionate residents and University of Toronto students. While most Torontonians know the typical hot spots in the Annex, I’ve uncovered five hidden gems that you need to discover right now.
1. There’s a local farmers market in a parking lot.
The parking lot at Borden Street near Bloor transforms into a local farmers market every Wednesday from June to October. The MyMarket location features dozens of vendors offering locally grown produce, organic veggies, artisanal cheeses and homemade butter tarts (that are seriously delicious!). Other highlights include the Bio Vision Farm’s beef truck (sausage anyone?), organic peaches (with samples!), and the Fiddlehead Farm which sells…well… fiddleheads. When the winter ends, check out this amazing farmers market in the parking lot.
The parking lot at Borden Street near Bloor transforms into a local farmers market every Wednesday from June to October. The MyMarket location features dozens of vendors offering locally grown produce, organic veggies, artisanal cheeses and homemade butter tarts (that are seriously delicious!). Other highlights include the Bio Vision Farm’s beef truck (sausage anyone?), organic peaches (with samples!), and the Fiddlehead Farm which sells…well… fiddleheads. When the winter ends, check out this amazing farmers market in the parking lot.
2. Bagels! Bagels! Bagels!
New to the area is Schmaltz, a small appetizing store on Dupont Street filled with cream cheese, lox, and the mighty bagel. Owned by Chef Anthony Rose (of Rose and Sons, and the salivating BBQ joint, Big Crow), the Jewish shop offers delicacies like gefilte fish, chopped liver, and egg and tuna. Chef Rose has (finally) brought Kiva’s Bagels south of St. Clair, leaving the neighbourhood cheering while picking poppy seeds out of their teeth.
New to the area is Schmaltz, a small appetizing store on Dupont Street filled with cream cheese, lox, and the mighty bagel. Owned by Chef Anthony Rose (of Rose and Sons, and the salivating BBQ joint, Big Crow), the Jewish shop offers delicacies like gefilte fish, chopped liver, and egg and tuna. Chef Rose has (finally) brought Kiva’s Bagels south of St. Clair, leaving the neighbourhood cheering while picking poppy seeds out of their teeth.
3. Central Tech has a free indoor pool.
Did you know that Central Tech High School offers free indoor swim for the community? This secret indoor pool at Bathurst and Harbord Street is open on weekends and generally not very busy. Other paid indoor pools in the area include a saltwater pool at the Jewish Community Centre on Spadina and the University of Toronto’s fitness arena.
Did you know that Central Tech High School offers free indoor swim for the community? This secret indoor pool at Bathurst and Harbord Street is open on weekends and generally not very busy. Other paid indoor pools in the area include a saltwater pool at the Jewish Community Centre on Spadina and the University of Toronto’s fitness arena.
4. The $5.00 restaurant.
Everything on the menu at the new El Furniture Warehouse is $5.00. We’re not kidding. From burgers and fries to a plate of spaghetti, the meal prices are just $4.95 (and portion sizes are generous). The restaurant on Bloor near Brunswick Avenue is already a favourite destination for those starving University of Toronto students and locals searching for cheap eats and good food. Other fun restaurants nearby include Guu Sakabar (the staff applauds as you enter) and Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria(family friendly and free homemade gelato with every kids meal).
Everything on the menu at the new El Furniture Warehouse is $5.00. We’re not kidding. From burgers and fries to a plate of spaghetti, the meal prices are just $4.95 (and portion sizes are generous). The restaurant on Bloor near Brunswick Avenue is already a favourite destination for those starving University of Toronto students and locals searching for cheap eats and good food. Other fun restaurants nearby include Guu Sakabar (the staff applauds as you enter) and Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria(family friendly and free homemade gelato with every kids meal).
5. Bloor Hot Docs Cinema shows cult classics.
Formerly the Bloor Street Cinema, the revitalized Bloor Hot Docs offers more than just daily documentaries—you can still catch cult classics like The Rocky Horror Picture Show every Saturday night. Here’s another bonus: the cinema is fully licensed serving Ontario wine and beer!
Formerly the Bloor Street Cinema, the revitalized Bloor Hot Docs offers more than just daily documentaries—you can still catch cult classics like The Rocky Horror Picture Show every Saturday night. Here’s another bonus: the cinema is fully licensed serving Ontario wine and beer!
New Student Housing a Growing Niche in the Rental Market
New Student Housing a Growing Niche in the Rental Market
Nov 18, 2014
As exciting as the purpose-built rental apartment market is, a growing niche within this sector is surprising everyone with its revenues, rising demand, and strong return on investment. Student housing promises to be a growing industry with high rents, low vacancy rates and lots of potential for investors.
Student housing traditionally has faced a number of negative stereotypes. However, the reality of today’s student housing is far removed from the poor-quality converted housing of old. Throughout Canada, over 17,000 units of new student housing stock is shocking the marketplace in terms of its quality and the rents achieved. Developers entering the student housing market today are discovering a wealth of opportunity due to four critical factors:
1. The Demographics are Favourable
In September 2013, over 950,000 full time students enrolled at the 82 largest university campuses across Canada. This number has been rising for the past decade and is expected to pass 1,000,000 within the next couple of years. Of these million students, 55% attend universities outside of the communities they grow up in; 10% of full-time university students come from outside of Canada.
These more than half-million students are in need of places to live. Economically, these young men and women have more income than ever before, and they are backed by parents and grandparents who want their children to be housed in accommodations that are safe and conducive to their educational experience. This makes for a high demand for quality accommodations that rewards those who provide quality supply.
2. Post-Secondary Institutions Are Looking to Private Developers to House their Students
Post-secondary institutions are dealing with a double-blow of increasing student enrolment and decreasing government funding. Universities and colleges have by and large chosen to focus on building classroom and research space while leaving private companies to house their growing student populations. Developers are already finding good markets for student housing close to major universities, and post-secondary institutions are encouraging these developers to build.
This pattern is even further advanced in college and university towns across the United States, where large student developments have been built. Developers can take the burden of student housing off of universities, leaving the universities to concentrate on the students’ educational experience.
3. Student Housing Offers Higher Rents Per Square Foot
Students have more disposable income in their pockets (and their parents’ pockets) than in years past. They are also more willing to share space than conventional renters. Students want to be close to their schools, and they are looking for other amenities that complement their experience. Games rooms, study rooms, even fitness centres and movie theatres may seem costly to developers, until you realize that student housing developments rent by the bed rather than by the unit. The rate of return for a building that looks after the students’ needs far exceeds a traditional apartment building that would be overlooked in the market.
Student housing also defies the normal economic cycle. During the economic recession of 2008, when most sectors of real estate suffered, apartments in general and student housing in particular maintained occupancy rates and net operating income, and financing remained available. During recessionary times, undergraduate students tend to stay in school longer, while graduates come back to school to upgrade their skills. All of this drives demand for student housing up.
3. The Market Has Only Just Started to Develop
For developers one of the best things about the student housing market in Canada is that it is still in its early stages. Waterloo has seen a boom in student housing that has added 9,000 beds within walking distance of the universities of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier. Just 9,000 more privately-built beds exist around the other 80 university institutions in the country.
The student housing market in the United States is now mature. In Canada, most university and college towns are virgin territory. Developers who move now into the Canadian market will obtain a strong first-move advantage and stand a chance of becoming the de-facto student housing brand.
Entering the Market with Eyes Open
The market in Canada has ramped up rapidly over the past three years. ROCK Advisors Inc. has been leading the way in consulting for and brokering student housing, and has helped sell nearly $300 million in student housing. However, it is important to invest wisely, and to do that, developers and investors need the support of industry experts and an objective, well-crafted feasibility study.
Third party consultants can objectively assess each market, identify the best target properties and recommend the best types of buildings to build, and the best amenities to include, bringing their expertise to bear. This way, investors can be assured that they are picking the best sites to build, are getting the highest net operating income, and the best return on their investment.
Student housing is a young, up-and-coming marketplace with a bright future. If you are ready to engage in the unique challenges that student housing represents, you can reap considerable rewards.
Derek Lobo is the CEO and sales broker at ROCK Advisors Inc., a real-estate brokerage specializing in apartments with over twenty-five years in new apartment construction, apartment management and student housing.
Student housing traditionally has faced a number of negative stereotypes. However, the reality of today’s student housing is far removed from the poor-quality converted housing of old. Throughout Canada, over 17,000 units of new student housing stock is shocking the marketplace in terms of its quality and the rents achieved. Developers entering the student housing market today are discovering a wealth of opportunity due to four critical factors:
1. The Demographics are Favourable
In September 2013, over 950,000 full time students enrolled at the 82 largest university campuses across Canada. This number has been rising for the past decade and is expected to pass 1,000,000 within the next couple of years. Of these million students, 55% attend universities outside of the communities they grow up in; 10% of full-time university students come from outside of Canada.
These more than half-million students are in need of places to live. Economically, these young men and women have more income than ever before, and they are backed by parents and grandparents who want their children to be housed in accommodations that are safe and conducive to their educational experience. This makes for a high demand for quality accommodations that rewards those who provide quality supply.
2. Post-Secondary Institutions Are Looking to Private Developers to House their Students
Post-secondary institutions are dealing with a double-blow of increasing student enrolment and decreasing government funding. Universities and colleges have by and large chosen to focus on building classroom and research space while leaving private companies to house their growing student populations. Developers are already finding good markets for student housing close to major universities, and post-secondary institutions are encouraging these developers to build.
This pattern is even further advanced in college and university towns across the United States, where large student developments have been built. Developers can take the burden of student housing off of universities, leaving the universities to concentrate on the students’ educational experience.
3. Student Housing Offers Higher Rents Per Square Foot
Students have more disposable income in their pockets (and their parents’ pockets) than in years past. They are also more willing to share space than conventional renters. Students want to be close to their schools, and they are looking for other amenities that complement their experience. Games rooms, study rooms, even fitness centres and movie theatres may seem costly to developers, until you realize that student housing developments rent by the bed rather than by the unit. The rate of return for a building that looks after the students’ needs far exceeds a traditional apartment building that would be overlooked in the market.
Student housing also defies the normal economic cycle. During the economic recession of 2008, when most sectors of real estate suffered, apartments in general and student housing in particular maintained occupancy rates and net operating income, and financing remained available. During recessionary times, undergraduate students tend to stay in school longer, while graduates come back to school to upgrade their skills. All of this drives demand for student housing up.
3. The Market Has Only Just Started to Develop
For developers one of the best things about the student housing market in Canada is that it is still in its early stages. Waterloo has seen a boom in student housing that has added 9,000 beds within walking distance of the universities of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier. Just 9,000 more privately-built beds exist around the other 80 university institutions in the country.
The student housing market in the United States is now mature. In Canada, most university and college towns are virgin territory. Developers who move now into the Canadian market will obtain a strong first-move advantage and stand a chance of becoming the de-facto student housing brand.
Entering the Market with Eyes Open
The market in Canada has ramped up rapidly over the past three years. ROCK Advisors Inc. has been leading the way in consulting for and brokering student housing, and has helped sell nearly $300 million in student housing. However, it is important to invest wisely, and to do that, developers and investors need the support of industry experts and an objective, well-crafted feasibility study.
Third party consultants can objectively assess each market, identify the best target properties and recommend the best types of buildings to build, and the best amenities to include, bringing their expertise to bear. This way, investors can be assured that they are picking the best sites to build, are getting the highest net operating income, and the best return on their investment.
Student housing is a young, up-and-coming marketplace with a bright future. If you are ready to engage in the unique challenges that student housing represents, you can reap considerable rewards.
Derek Lobo is the CEO and sales broker at ROCK Advisors Inc., a real-estate brokerage specializing in apartments with over twenty-five years in new apartment construction, apartment management and student housing.
May 2014 was a best GTA May on record
May 2014 was the best May on record for home sales in the Toronto area with 11,079 homes trading hands during the month. This represented an increase of over 11% from May of 2013.
Tight market conditions also prompted a strong 8.3% increase in the average sale price year-over-year in the month. When you drill down into the average price, it is interesting to note that the average price for a detached home in the City of Toronto was $943,055 whereas the average price for a condominium apartment in the City of Toronto was $401,809. The average price for detached homes and condominium apartments in areas of the GTA outside of the City of Toronto was $648,439 and $307,307 respectively.
How the Toronto Market Has Changed Over the Years – Condominium Sales
I am often asked about the condominium market in the GTA. There are really two condo markets in the GTA: those sales that are in new developments and those that are in the resale market.
What I always find incredible is that almost one in every three sales now in the GTA resale market are condominium sales (about 28% of all sales in the GTA in 2013 were of condominiums.).
Half of All Sales are now Condominiums
When I take a closer look at the City of Toronto itself (the 416 generally), the breakdown in sales between condominium and freehold homes is now about 50/50 – so half of all resale home sales in the City of Toronto in 2013 were condominiums. We are not yet Manhattan, but a condominium lifestyle is becoming more and more the norm for many families in our City.
Please call me if you are interested in learning more about the condominium market in the GTA for either investment purposes or as an option for your home.
I hope you have a wonderful June and let me know if I can be of assistance to anyone in your circle of family and or friends - I am never too busy for your referrals.
Your friends in real estate.
Steven
The Shop
The Shop is a community-based maker space located in Brockton Village. The creative facility, based on the ground floor of a converted loft building at 1139 College St., presents a solution to the workspace woes of Toronto's space-skint DIY-ers. The facility is part of MakeWorks, a coworking space for tech startups, designers and other creators.
The Shop's founders, Marissa Maislin and Michelle Organ, opened the doors to the space just last month, but the project has been in the planning stages for nearly a year. The childhood friends and art-school grads wanted to create an inclusive environment for members to work on their projects, or, as Maislin puts it, "somewhere that any person can go, at any skill level and realize their creativity".
The spacious workshop located at 1139 College St. is fully equipped with everything you might need for a small to medium sized project, including four massive work surfaces and wall mounted benches that surround the room. They're fully stocked with new power and hand tools, drill presses - even a kiln. A fully-functioning metal shop is in the planning stages and is expected within a few weeks.
The Shop seems to be aiming for clients with lighter grade projects (you probably wouldn't exactly find full-sized MIG welders anyhow, based on the space's ventilation and code requirements). Maislin and Organ's background in fine arts lends a multidisciplinary approach to their plans, incorporating ceramic, metal and woodworking facilities under one roof - something Organ claims is unique among Toronto's maker spaces.
Access to The Shop is membership-based, set at $95 per month, with the option of a day pass for $25. The pitch: They provide the tools, tables, equipment and wi-fi, and members provide their own ideas and materials.
This rate is generally comparable, if slightly cheaper, than other maker spaces available in the city, but is optimized to appeal to those who might feel a bit intimidated in a workshop setting.
Workshop tutorials have been a popular option for new makers, with diverse subjects taught throughout the spring. May is well-stocked with classes including wood letter cutting, linocut, and screen printing tutorials - an interesting combination of trades and arty handcraft. You don't have to be a member to join a workshop; they're quite inexpensive, and it's a great way to survey the space and its services.
Eventually, the two founders hope to develop 'Shop The Shop,' a retail space that sells only handmade goods created by its members - like a kind of real-time Etsy.
The real dream, though, is to foster an interactive community of collaboration within The Shop, where members of all skill sets support each others projects from conception to sale, in an inclusive and fun environment.
http://www.theshoptoronto.ca/
http://www.blogto.com/design/the-shop-toronto
A Look Back at the Real Estate Market in and Around Toronto for April 2014... and a Look Forward
The Toronto real estate market continued its strong pace with 9,706 homes sold in April, up almost 2% from April 2013. While the number of sales remained fairly consistent, there were 2 major statistical changes from 2013. The first was the average sale price which price rose dramatically in April to an average year-to-date price of $559,208 up 7% from 2013’s average price of $523,013. That sharp rise in price was caused by the second factor, 8.4% fewer homes for sale which resulted in multiple offers on well-priced homes.
While we all want to see the value of our homes increase, a sharp increase in price is not beneficial to first-time home buyers trying to save up enough for a down payment. If the number of first time buyers decreases sharply, it affects the prices of all homes.
It’s been said that for every time interest rates go up a quarter of a percent, 5,000 buyers can no longer qualify for a mortgage and thus cannot buy. With fewer buyers there is less competition which affects prices and sales. We can only hope that as the weather warms up, more homes will come up for sale and ease the pressure on demand and prices.
I believe demand will continue to be strong throughout 2014 and if the listing inventory increases, there will be an easing of prices and the sharp increase of prices will not continue.
Is your mortgage coming up shortly for renewal? It’s very common for mortgage companies to send you mortgage renewal documents and they make it seem very easy for you to renew your mortgage at a very low renewal rate. However, mortgage companies and banks usually do not quote you their best rates on these automatic renewals. If you get such a renewal notice, please feel free to give me a call and I'm quite confident I can save you substantial money on your mortgage renewal.
Have a great day, and don't forget I truly appreciate your referrals!
While we all want to see the value of our homes increase, a sharp increase in price is not beneficial to first-time home buyers trying to save up enough for a down payment. If the number of first time buyers decreases sharply, it affects the prices of all homes.
It’s been said that for every time interest rates go up a quarter of a percent, 5,000 buyers can no longer qualify for a mortgage and thus cannot buy. With fewer buyers there is less competition which affects prices and sales. We can only hope that as the weather warms up, more homes will come up for sale and ease the pressure on demand and prices.
I believe demand will continue to be strong throughout 2014 and if the listing inventory increases, there will be an easing of prices and the sharp increase of prices will not continue.
Is your mortgage coming up shortly for renewal? It’s very common for mortgage companies to send you mortgage renewal documents and they make it seem very easy for you to renew your mortgage at a very low renewal rate. However, mortgage companies and banks usually do not quote you their best rates on these automatic renewals. If you get such a renewal notice, please feel free to give me a call and I'm quite confident I can save you substantial money on your mortgage renewal.
Have a great day, and don't forget I truly appreciate your referrals!
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