“Great Boom” in Toronto’s Real Estate Sector
Although the country is currently having a credit crunch, and with the nationwide real estate sector reportedly experiencing a decline due to more expensive financing, it has been reported that toronto is in the midst of a real estate boom.
In an article published in the business news website reportonbusiness.com in June 2008, it was reported that while the said credit crunch is generally blamed for making real estate financing more expensive, it is also responsible for creating real estate opportunities for more able and dependable real estate developers. Previously, anyone with a building or any kind of property can claim to be a real estate developer. This scenario was risky for potential buyers, especially buyers who are not keen on who and where they take their business to. Now, due to the expensive financing, only strong, more experienced developers can really do business in Toronto. This ensures the quality of the property and the real estate sector itself in Toronto.
Reportonbusiness.com quoted Ivanka Trump as to saying toronto is in the “cusp of a great boom,” due especially to its booming hotel industry, which serves as the country’s feeder for the commercial and real estate developments taking place in the country. Trump’s company, The trump organization of the famous real estate developer Donald Trump, is currently doing a $400-million project with Talon International Development Inc., which is based in Toronto. The project involves the completion of condo units and a luxury hotel in the heart of the country’s business district, to be finished by 2010. The project, while still years from completion, has already gained positive remarks: 85 percent of the hotel rooms and 61 of the condo units are already sold despite the fairly pricey $1,550 per square foot mark. The residential units are priced at around two million dollars. The project received highly satisfactory responses from buyers, proving that they are interested in the location and that Toronto is indeed in the cusp of a real estate boom.
Adding proof to Trump’s statement, the Canadian Real Estate Association has reported that the housing market resale in Toronto has jumped seven percent compared to last year due to the real estate market’s cooling.
In line with this, some parties have suggested that Toronto may be “recession-proof.” Despite the constant buzz of a harsh slump in the real estate sector—which is more evident in other developed countries such as America—real estate developers in Toronto have not experienced a decline in sales. In fact, real estate developers in Toronto are still trying to meet the demand for property even as they prepare for the worst. Due to the insistent demand, many industries are going to downtown Toronto for office and building spaces.
It does not mean that Toronto is indeed “recession-proof.” But as reportonbusiness.com reports, this decline has helped big companies such as The trump organization to eliminate small and unreliable developers. With big companies left to develop property in Toronto, buyers are assured of top-notch quality, as these big name companies have a name to live up to.