It's a relaunch. I still think the prices are "meh". Is it possible to get a 500sqft condo downtown <$300K?
Think about that 300k mark. Not only is it impossible to get much below that, but demographics don't support that level.
Looking at the central waterfront tract ( statscan 5350012.00 if you want to look it up. It's from Bathurst to York, south of Front)
a) Half the units are occupied by single people that live alone.
b) the median income of these occupants is around 45k.
c) The biggest demographic group is 25-29 year olds; 30-34 is a close second and it tapers off gradually above that. The typical resident is in their early 30s - hardly peak earning years.
Most of the rest are DINK couples, which have an average household income of around 82k.
The total average household income was 66k.
The average home value in the tract in 2006 was 320K. It would of course be much higher today. This price level could be supported at 4x income - barely - were all units occupied by DINKs. Of course, only about 40% are. On average income the ratio was about 5.5. Of course nowadays it's quite a bit higher than that while it's dubious incomes have kept up with the ongoing economic uncertainty.
According to Stats Can, in 2006 fully half the units in the neighbourhood were rented. Considering how the area is very strongly dominated by newer condo buildings, particularly CityPlace, this is itself a warning sign. Behind the majority of those rentals is an oversized mortgage just like any other owner's.
The reality is that current conditions are completely, totally out of line with justifiable values. The justifiable price in the central waterfront is in the mid-200s at 4x income, which is a reasonable long term goal. This is 20% less than 2006 prices, and they're probably closer to 35% overpriced today.
(I am ignoring the "downtown premium". This area will always attract more affluent residents and will be correspondingly more expensive, no matter what the GTA's real estate market does. South of Front is not a super-rich area anyways)