Condo Real Estate Trends for 2019
The condominium market is expanding beyond bachelor pads and sweeping city views. New condominiums are being built across Canada enhancing the suburbs and bringing affordable home ownership to smaller towns.
When people say the word condo, what comes to mind first? Do the words freedom, savings and space trigger any happy thoughts? New condo developments, especially ones outside of the major metropolis’, are catering to their family-oriented market, including expanding unit square footage and the number of bedrooms. There is a clear demand for affordable and family designed three-bedroom suites over 1,000 square feet. Developers are designing units specifically for families and including kid-oriented amenities — playrooms, playgrounds, pools and the like.
Take a look at Harbour Ten10 by Castle Group Developments in Whitby. Advertising itself as resort style living, this project carries all the traits of swanky downtown living and mandatory posh amenities out to the suburbs. Starting at half the price of what a similar condo downtown Toronto would cost you, suburb living is looking all the more appealing. Couple this with the fact that more careers involve work from home opportunities and flexible hours, the benefits are undeniable.
An appealing benefit for the creative type is pre-construction condo purchasing and the ability to design the layout of your new home. There are often promotional components to buying a condo pre-construction as well. Free interior design purchase upgrades and furniture bonuses are common offerings to look for.
In 2017 the City of Toronto released Urban Design Guidelines focused on planning for children in new condo communities known as vertical communities. The focus is on looking at condo life from a child’s perspective, and building the condo to be part of a whole community, not a stand-alone structure. These guidelines are an amazing starting place for all condo developers and city planners who are tasked with cultivating modern family spaces. New condo construction in the suburbs allows developers to work with city’s and towns to build new schools, parks, childcare and recreation centres to accommodate the influx of vivacity and activity. Even grocery stores and bus stops are built to compliment new vertical communities, increasing walk scores and greenspace.
Planning a condo community enables the whole neighborhood to meet the daily needs of every future resident. Whimsical design elements and eco-friendly building materials are another exciting aspect of condo construction. Evermore at West Village in Etobicoke by Tridel, is a family-oriented condominium. One of the first statements on their website is “Evermore suites offer wider entrances for space for those essential pieces, like a shoe shelf or stroller.” With spacious suites, eco-friendly building practices and a lively community growing around this planned community, it is sure to please family focused buyers.
Not only are condo communities built differently, they are also uniquely managed. In Canada a property management company is often hired to ensure the buildings day to day operations run smoothly, including resident satisfaction. There are condo fees to budget for, parking spaces to rent, and storage lockers to be assigned. Property mangers carry the responsibility of it all. From move-ins to pet complaints, unexpected floods and medical emergencies, they are there to take care of it all.
When it comes to managing electric and water consumption, property managers should be at ease. Property managers must step into many roles throughout the day and the last thing they should have to do is sit down at their desk and see a stack of unpaid bills from residents. Still, many property mangers are knocking on doors, trying to collect payment for a resident’s excessive use of electricity for the last 3 months.
In order for condo developers to ensure a seamless move in experience for their excited tenants, every condo needs to be suite metered. Suite metering is beneficial for everyone at all levels of condominium development, management and living.
Suite metering reduces the utility portion of the maintenance fees while promoting individual conservation. This greatly benefits both the building’s infrastructure and efficiency over time. Enjoy financial and material cost reduction when suite metering is incorporated at the pre-development stage. Save yourself and your team the hassle of negotiating with expensive utility companies. Priority will provide the meters including water, gas, thermal, electricity and electric vehicle charging. By partnering with Priority as your utility suite metering provider, property managers will have time to focus on their jobs without excessive billing issues and unnecessary customer service distractions.
A call to Priority Suite metering pre-construction will enable us to create a custom proposal and contract that will extensively benefit the condominium developer.