The half-floor sub-penthouse unit at Camrost-Felcorp's Yorkville Estates building at 200 Cumberland.MARGARET MULLIGAN/Margaret Mulligan
The market for new condominiums in Toronto remains stagnant, but among a very select group of buyers and sellers, confidence reigns.
There are about two dozen condominium apartments in Toronto with asking prices of more than $10-million, and new ones coming to market even now in a segment that’s virtually immune to market sentiment, economic worries or interest-rate fluctuations.
“If you say the general market has dropped 25 per cent, the high-end market has not,” said Janice Fox, broker of record for Hazelton Real Estate Inc., who has two $17-million apartments listed for sale now. “It hasn’t gone up, but it’s gone down less than 7 [to] 8 per cent.”
According to Ms. Fox, buyers in this segment typically have more than one home already, and the decision to spend almost $20-million on a condominium is not motivated by whether that property is going to gain in value in the short term. “Not to say they are immune to what’s happening, but if they arbitrarily make a decision that they are going to buy, they are just going to go ahead and do it,” she said.
Typically, it’s a combination of size, neighbourhood and style of the building that makes an apartment worth more than even a very large house.
What’s next for the Canadian housing market, according to our reporters
According to Andy Taylor with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, who also has multiple multimillion-dollar condo listings, there’s luxury – and then there’s hyper-luxury. While some luxury buildings might have as much as 60 per cent of all units with about 1,500 square feet of living space, most in the upper tier – roughly 10 per cent of the building – have more than 5,000 square feet. The middle-range units might be priced close to $10-million, but the top 10 per cent push toward $20-million.
The Yorkville Private Estates at 200 Cumberland St. is a Camrost Felcorp Inc. condominium building that finished construction in 2021 and was designed to cater to the ultraluxury market. A separate lobby and separate elevators serve the 15 floors at the top of the 40-storey building. On those levels, a mix of smaller units and some entire-floor apartments were sold. The final unsold apartment, a half-floor sub-penthouse covering 5,684 square feet, is now looking for a buyer. The price: $18-million.
“A unit at this price point attracts a specific buyer and client, who wants to feel good and feel rewarded for all they’ve achieved in life,” Christopher Castellano, vice-president, sales and marketing at Camrost.
The unit, covering 5,684 square feet, has an asking price of $18-million.MARGARET MULLIGAN/Margaret Mulligan
To set the stage for the right kind of buyer, Camrost brought in a design team from Toronto-based Powell & Bonnell to complete the interior design and furnish it with pieces from Paris-based Studio Liaigre. To set the mood, the builder partnered with Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery to hang millions of dollars’ worth of artwork in the space. “It’s a great opportunity for a savvy purchaser,” Mr. Castellano said. “Three or four years ago, this was probably priced $3-million, $4-million higher.”
According to Deana Feldman, broker with Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd., who is the listing agent on the 200 Cumberland apartment, there are other benefits to having your own castle in the sky.
“What I’m noticing with my luxury clients, they are no longer feeling that safe in Rosedale or Forest Hill and are moving away from large homes and wanting to have more privacy,” she said. High-profile break-ins and thefts in some of Toronto’s wealthy neighbourhoods have some realizing you can’t hide a 10,000-square-foot house from the street. But in a tall building, no one knows how much of it you own.
There are currently about two dozen condominium apartments in Toronto with asking prices of more than $10-million.MARGARET MULLIGAN/Margaret Mulligan
Ms. Feldman made the Cumberland condo listing public through the local Multiple Listing Service but admits there is an urge for privacy in this price bracket. Ms. Fox also says close to 30 per cent of the homes that transact in this range do so off-market with no public marketing, and so are not visible on real estate sites such as Realtor.ca.
At the $18-million price point, Ms. Feldman said buyers still want many of the comforts of a mansion. They want layouts that aren’t fully open concept, but separate living spaces from entertainment spaces, for example. “They are used to a certain level of luxury, and they are still entertaining and hosting charity dinners. They still need an impressive place. In the $8-million to $10-million space, you’re not getting all of this,” she said.
Tall buildings create other issues for hyper-luxury buyers, according to Ms. Fox, from outdoor space beset by high winds and the potential for long or awkward elevator rides.
A separate lobby and separate elevators serve the 15 floors at the top of the 40-storey building.MARGARET MULLIGAN/Margaret Mulligan
“There’s definitely a movement in the high end toward intimate buildings,” Ms. Fox said, adding that lower-rise buildings with fewer units are more likely to catch the top prices. But if the building has too many smaller units, then it becomes less attractive for these buyers, she said: “They say, ‘I don’t want to be the best house on the worst street.’”
All the agents in this price bracket say the federal ban on foreign buyers is limiting their buyer pool.
“We’re losing a lot of investment from significant purchasers – we hear from Americans upset with the current administration, we have tons of requests from Europe – and they can’t believe we have a market where their clients can’t buy,” Mr. Taylor said.
He argues that a policy aimed at preserving housing affordability stops making sense in this price bracket. “This is a product that’s not in competition with someone who’s concerned about affordability,” he said.