News   Mar 28, 2024
 35     0 
News   Mar 28, 2024
 143     0 
News   Mar 28, 2024
 242     0 

If you could purchase a property anywhere in Toronto...

James

Senior Member
Member Bio
Joined
Jan 15, 2012
Messages
1,422
Reaction score
128
Location
Toronto
...where would it be?

And what kind of property would it be? Would you live in it yourself, hold onto it, pass it to the next generation? Or would you hold and sell when the time is right so that you'd move on somewhere else for retirement?

Assuming you have the financial capacity, of course, where would be your ideal location in the city?
 
I'd buy up a piece of the downtown waterfront and build a modern house there with my own dock.

Totally out of place, but hey. :)

---

Actually I wouldn't. I don't really like the Toronto downtown waterfront in the winter. Barren wasteland. One of my favourite areas in Toronto is the Fallingbrook neighbourhood in Scarborough just east of The Beach, but homes by the lake there are extremely pricey and very hard to come by.

Birch_Cliff.PNG


So, I moved a few km east and got something similar for a lot less.

250px-Cliffside_map.PNG


Where I am, the homes south of Kingston road are very nice, with midrange homes north of the lake and really upscale homes at the lake, and the neighbourhood is very safe and friendly. Fallingbrook has the advantage though, since shopping and restaurants my area mostly aren't very good, whereas in Fallingbrook you can walk to The Beach shopping on Queen, yet it still is quiet in the summer, because it's far enough away from the irritating congestion The Beach gets in the summer. Furthermore, Fallingbrook is 5-10 mins closer to downtown than I am.

I don't work downtown but if I did, the commute by car downtown in light traffic (7 am on a weekday) is under 20 minutes. In the peak of rush hour (8 am) it's more like 35-40 minutes depending on where you go, but in moderate traffic (9 am) it's maybe 25 to 30 minutes. I'd guess the corresponding times for Fallingbrook would be 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 20 minutes respectively.
 
Last edited:
I can't argue with the above. Fallingbrook is a very nice part of town, still relatively off the radar for most people who are looking to buy in that price range. A friend of mine did some work on a few houses in Fallingbrook and kept going on about how wonderful this neighborhood is, tucked away in this little pocket of Scarborough.

My only concern with this southern part of Scarborough is the commute north and, to a smaller extent, east. You're kind of split between going west to catch the DVP up through East York or simply taking a local road like Victoria Park all the way up. Going east, you can take Kingston Road all the way out east until you can hop on the 401 or do local roads like Danforth and Eglinton. Aside from that, it is a great location that is in close proximity to downtown, the Beach, the Bluffs and a host of other amenities.
 
Kingston Road going east from southwest Scarborough is empty for the morning commute. Also, once you hit Birchmount, it becomes quite a large road east all the way to the 401.

Going north, the main roads like Warden (and I believe Vic Park) are also empty for the morning commute. The DVP is not a good idea though, because it's usually quite busy in both directions at rush hour.
 
I am an urban person and can't stand anything even related to the suburbs, so given the "ifs", I would purchase a nice two storey townhouse (my dream is small!) at

Deer Park
King East @ Jarvis
just southeast of Grange Park
Yorkville (north of Bloor)
Ramsden Park
 
There's a reason houses in Rosedale and Forest Hill are super expensive despite their modest sizes. Location location location.
 
There's a reason houses in Rosedale and Forest Hill are super expensive despite their modest sizes. Location location location.
Sort of. It's the location of old money, and they're nice areas in decent locations relative to downtown, but it's not as if they're necessarily outstanding in terms of natural beauty or anything.

To put it another way... I'd rather have a waterfront view in the Fallingbrook area rather than a standard lot in Forrest Hill. However, Forrest Hill has higher end shopping and higher end restaurants nearby.
 
So the big question is: What is it about their respective locations? If it's geographical, why are other areas conveniently located either downtown or near the city core not as mature and established as Forest Hill, for example? Is it the schools? The people? The location? It's interesting to think about what comes first and why certain areas are more sought-after over others.
 
So the big question is: What is it about their respective locations? If it's geographical, why are other areas conveniently located either downtown or near the city core not as mature and established as Forest Hill, for example? Is it the schools? The people? The location?

The location.
 
The location.
So, what about the location is so great?

If you say nice shopping and nice restaurants and nice homes, I'd agree, but that's a money thing, not the physical beauty of the location.

If you say proximity to downtown, then James has already mentioned that several other neighbourhoods are as close or are closer.

---

For the record, I'd be quite happy with a nice house in Rosedale. However, it's because it's a nice neighbourhood with generally well-to-do and well-educated residents, not because I think the land there is especially beautiful.
 
...where would it be?

And what kind of property would it be? Would you live in it yourself, hold onto it, pass it to the next generation? Or would you hold and sell when the time is right so that you'd move on somewhere else for retirement?

Assuming you have the financial capacity, of course, where would be your ideal location in the city?

From an investment perspective, I'd be interested in purchasing a property at the Yonge and Eglinton area. I'd mainly consider purchasing a house. I would have to crunch some numbers to determine if it would be better for me to live in a section of the home and rent out the rest or to stay in my current home and rent the entire property
eg. live in basement and rent out main and upper floors.

What attracts me to the area is the developments going on.
-Yonge subway
-Potential above\below ground LRT (I hope they put it below ground the whole way)
-New condos with retail amenities
-Rejuvenation of the RIO can building (check out the display in their building)
-New Urban Outfitters and Messini's (great Greek restaurant)
-Turning into a posh nieghbourhood with upper class residents.
-The offices are not quite their yet in the dress apparel, but it appears to be moving more towards dress pants and dress shirt companies, instead of jeans and a t-shirt.

If condos are being built attached to a high schools, there's definitely a demand in an area with limited land. Several condo constructions are having home torn down as well.

In terms of hold period, it would depend on cash flow generated, appreciation or maybe I'd like to live in the home in the future.

There are currently bidding wars going on in this area over semi detached homes for 700k+. Detached homes are easily 1 million plus.


Just some ideal thoughts currently on my mind...
 
So, what about the location is so great?

If you say nice shopping and nice restaurants and nice homes, I'd agree, but that's a money thing, not the physical beauty of the location.

If you say proximity to downtown, then James has already mentioned that several other neighbourhoods are as close or are closer.

---

For the record, I'd be quite happy with a nice house in Rosedale. However, it's because it's a nice neighbourhood with generally well-to-do and well-educated residents, not because I think the land there is especially beautiful.

Correct. For example, geographically East Chinatown is a hop to the TTC, a skip to the DVP and a jump to the downtown sector away, yet the properties in that neighborhood are not quite at the same level as, say, Lawrence Park, which is in actuality is not quite easy to get around without a car. So we eliminate geographical location. What about the people then? The well-to-do and well-educated families move in to, as Eug cited as an example, Rosedale. Why do/did they move into that neighborhood in the first place? Is it because the best schools are located in that area? Do the schools drive the well-educated to move into that neighborhood or do the well-educated foster better schools because of their presence?

Sorry for going a little off-topic but I throw out these questions not really looking for one correct answer, but more to introduce some thought into how our neighborhoods are established and how they became the communities they are today.
 
From an investment perspective, I'd be interested in purchasing a property at the Yonge and Eglinton area. I'd mainly consider purchasing a house. I would have to crunch some numbers to determine if it would be better for me to live in a section of the home and rent out the rest or to stay in my current home and rent the entire property
eg. live in basement and rent out main and upper floors.

What attracts me to the area is the developments going on.
-Yonge subway
-Potential above\below ground LRT (I hope they put it below ground the whole way)
-New condos with retail amenities
-Rejuvenation of the RIO can building (check out the display in their building)
-New Urban Outfitters and Messini's (great Greek restaurant)
-Turning into a posh nieghbourhood with upper class residents.
-The offices are not quite their yet in the dress apparel, but it appears to be moving more towards dress pants and dress shirt companies, instead of jeans and a t-shirt.

If condos are being built attached to a high schools, there's definitely a demand in an area with limited land. Several condo constructions are having home torn down as well.

In terms of hold period, it would depend on cash flow generated, appreciation or maybe I'd like to live in the home in the future.

There are currently bidding wars going on in this area over semi detached homes for 700k+. Detached homes are easily 1 million plus.


Just some ideal thoughts currently on my mind...

Yonge & Eglinton has been a safe bet for many years now. The value of properties in this area have been increasing at a pretty good pace for the last while. That said, you can still find decent family homes in the $750k range. No, there isn't an abundance of them, but you can definitely still find them. Typically 20-25ft lots, perhaps a shared driveway or a detached garage in the back, 2-storey brick, 3-bedroom, hydronic radiator heating, hardwood floors, etc. Nice properties definitely. If you scoot over a little more to the west, in the Avenue/Eglinton area, you'll be more inclined to find duplexes that would be great if you intend on living on one floor and renting out the other.
 
So, what about the location is so great?

For the record, I'd be quite happy with a nice house in Rosedale. However, it's because it's a nice neighbourhood with generally well-to-do and well-educated residents, not because I think the land there is especially beautiful.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Often, property values are about who you live beside, not the actual practical and aesthetic value of the location. It's why they say you should buy the worst looking house on a great street instead of the best looking house on a bad street.
 

Back
Top