Toronto Forma | 308m | 84s | Great Gulf | Gehry Partners

[UtakataNoAnnex]

Time for a rant. I love how some on this forum have no clue how the development industry works. The "greed" you are referring to is what economists would call profit margin, the thing that drives our economy and pays the taxes that pay for our healthcare, education, and infrastructure programs. It is very simple, construction costs and interest rates have risen to the point that it is unprofitable to build at the moment. Unless costs come down or pre-con prices go up, there will be very little building. Some purpose built rental projects can make sense, but only because of government supported CMHC financing programs. I have sites that even if the land were free, the development would not pencil at this time. Those are the cold hard facts.

To be clear, I would call profit margin sustainability. While greed would be something above and beyond that. Also see: Rules of Acquisition #2 & 10.

 

[Civdis]

To be clear, I would call profit margin sustainability. While greed would be something above and beyond that. Also see: Rules of Acquisition #2 & 10.

I disagree, profit margin is profit margin, simply revenue minus all costs. Nobody was forcing buyers to enter the pre-construction market. If profits get exorbitant, more developers will enter the market, increasing supply and thus lowering profit margins until equilibrium (sustainability as you call it) is once again achieved. Housing in Canada is largely provide by the private sector in a free market system. It can be messy at times and tends to move in cycles.

 

[Civdis]

Sorry for continuing the OT comments, I will stop now

 

[ImmenselyMental]

Here are some photos I took of Forma on January 1, 2025: