The cost of living downtown and bidding wars (buyer's opinion)

[interested]

So, how long will that last? 54 cents per square foot is not exactly cheap, when you consider that condo fees have a nasty habit of increasing significantly after a couple of years.

Agreed. And with HST, likely will go up immediately. But compared to approx: 80 cents for the Ritz, Trump and Four Seasons, this is quite reasonable. I am not exactly sure of the prices for the above 3 but I believe this is reasonably close if my memory serves correctly. One must compare apples to apples. Luxury building with luxury amenities to similar buildings. Given that 45-50 cents seems to be pretty much the norm for mid level buildings in TO at present, (in my opionion) that this is a premiere building, I believe it is reasonable.

 

[zeeden]

M5V's maintenance fee is about .45 cents and each unit has a seperate water tank as well.

 

[cdr108]

M5V's maintenance fee is about .45 cents and each unit has a seperate water tank as well.

so what is heating the water tank - electricity or gas?
it doesn't sound like that charge will be included in the maintenance fees?

and are you trying to compare M5V to Shangri-la, Ritz, Trump???

 

[Eug]

Agreed. And with HST, likely will go up immediately. But compared to approx: 80 cents for the Ritz, Trump and Four Seasons, this is quite reasonable. I am not exactly sure of the prices for the above 3 but I believe this is reasonably close if my memory serves correctly. One must compare apples to apples. Luxury building with luxury amenities to similar buildings. Given that 45-50 cents seems to be pretty much the norm for mid level buildings in TO at present, (in my opionion) that this is a premiere building, I believe it is reasonable.

I wouldn't be surprised to see head from 54 --> 70+ in relatively short order.

 

[Monaco]

M5V's maintenance fee is about .45 cents and each unit has a seperate water tank as well.

Is the tank rental or owned? The renting of water tanks and heat pumps can add up quite a bit.

 

[zeeden]

so what is heating the water tank - electricity or gas?
it doesn't sound like that charge will be included in the maintenance fees?

and are you trying to compare M5V to Shangri-la, Ritz, Trump???

Is the tank rental or owned? The renting of water tanks and heat pumps can add up quite a bit.

Sorry, I don't know what i'm talking about. M5Vs Heating is Electricity and Water is individually metered as well. So my point is, maintenance fees are less likely to rise as high as other units in the GTA because everyone watches their own water consumption.

Not comparing M5V to Ritz Carlton and Shangri La. We're talking about units in the downtown M5V area as well as their maintenance fees. But the amenities in M5V do suck.

 

[M5Vgirl]

We just paid $460/sq ft for a great place in Corktown and with multiple offers. There are lots of good neighbourhoods in TO where you can pay less than $500/sq ft. We just sold our condo in Mozo (St. Lawrence Mkt) for about $480 / sq ft.

I don't know how you can say it's buyer that dictate the price. This goes against the whole concept of supply/demand. The reality is that there hasn't been a lot of supply over the last few mths hence fairly decent prices so in many ways it's the sellers that are setting the price.

Yes, Corktown is an up and coming neighbourhood but I'm specifically interested and concered with the downtown market. I wouldn't consider St. Lawrence the inner core either. Buyers do dictate the market value b/c we are the ones willing to offer more than asking price and getting into multiple offer situations. What a unit sells for (whether above or below asking) is ultimately what a buyer is willing to pay for.

 

[interested]

I wouldn't be surprised to see head from 54 --> 70+ in relatively short order.

Perhaps. however, there are a large number of units in this building sharing the amenities costs and the estates which have a few more services are paying 75 cents estimated. I hope you are wrong but over time I am sure it will escalate as you say, I just wish for it not to be in "short order".

That said, with the HST being added, I would expect at least 6 to 8% for the PST component which will add 3-5 cents immediately on 54 cents and therefore it will likely be closer to 60 cents but then every condo in the city will face the same issue.

 

[cdr108]

Sorry, I don't know what i'm talking about. M5Vs Heating is Electricity and Water is individually metered as well. So my point is, maintenance fees are less likely to rise as high as other units in the GTA because everyone watches their own water consumption.

Not comparing M5V to Ritz Carlton and Shangri La. We're talking about units in the downtown M5V area as well as their maintenance fees. But the amenities in M5V do suck.

electricity heating and hot water heating can be very expensive especially in an all glass tower ... are you sure both are electricitY?

 

[zeeden]

Okay..sorry its Gas for heating and cooking...Hydro for electricity...Water for laundry, showering, dishes etc.... Hydro and Water seperately metered based on amount of consumption.

No Hot Water or Electrical heating

Gas is included in the maintenance fee, but water and hydro is not.