Condo Market Doing Well In Toronto

There is a lot of talk about the Toronto housing market, but lost in the mix is the condo market. Condos are an incredibly important part of the housing market and their surging sales are helping the entire Toronto real estate market improve on its levels of the past years.

 Toronto is not seen as an urban city like New York or Los Angeles. It has a much smaller town feel and that has led to many people buying condos in the city. There are also several reasons why people will choose condos over other types of homes.

First, condos are relatively low maintenance. There is no property to upkeep, no worries about roofs, basements and more. That means they appeal to certain types of people, especially people who are single or in their old age. People with children are not always keen on condos.

Second, condos offer more security than homes. It is much harder to break into a seventh floor condo building than it is to break into a home.

Third, condos provide communal living like apartments, but are much nicer and much more pleasant to live in.

Lastly, condos usually do not require as much of an investment to buy. They are usually 2/3rds or half the price of a regular home and they are often much easier to sell when the time comes to move.

 In Toronto, new condo sales were up 310 percent, which are as good as the condo sales seen in Vancouver. Toronto’s condo sales rank as some of the best in the country and Halton has the best sales with 464 units being sold in 2009.

 Many potential buyers are choosing to go for condos rather than homes because there is not as much of a bidding war for condos and condos are being built all over the city. With more condos, there is a lower price for them. For detached homes, there are still too many buyers and that means sellers are able to increase the prices to be able to get more than what they paid for their homes. This has many worried about a housing bubble.

 One thing is certain, condos are going to be hot property, especially with once old buildings being made new again within the city center, through the renovation process to condos. Condo sales should keep rising through 2010, even with the new interest rates.