This condo is launching in early 2012. Contact me for floor plans and pricing and your chance to buy before the public launch!

I haven’t written too much about assignment sales, but my clients know that I am expecting/predicting 2009 to be “the year of the assignment”.  Many people who bought condos in the past two years will be looking to sell this year and get their deposit monies back.  Assignments can offer the savvy buyer with significant savings. More on that in future blog posts.

This post is about an assignment listing that came across my desk this week at Murano – North Tower. Murano is a project by Lanterra and is located on Bay Street, just north of College. The details:

• 17th floor-2 bedroom, 2 bathroom
• 752 Square feet, “Pezzati” floor plan, Murano condos – Pezzati floor plan
• Balcony – yes
• South-West exposure (corner unit)
• Includes 1 parking spot
• April 2009 Occupancy (Estimate)
• Assignment fee of $4000 to be paid by the seller
• Asking price is $399,999

The Truth is…

This is a good deal when you consider that the builder currently has a Pezzati unit for sale on the 42nd floor with North-West exposure for $449,900 with no parking spot. Assuming the parking spot is worth $35,000, the asking price per square foot is approximately $485-far below the area average (low to mid $600s. As for the floor plan itself, fitting in 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms into 752 square feet means that the living and dining area is quite narrow. Also, walking directly into the kitchen might be a turn off for some people. However, if you are looking for a 2 bedroom with a south view on a high floor, and you want to move in some time in the next few months, this unit offers good value.

If you are interested in this assignment, please contact me.

This listing is provided by Owais Sayed of Century 21 Leading Edge Realty 416-298-6000.

U Condominiums by Pemberton at Bay and St Mary’s is one of the projects that probably wishes they had a time machine and could launch their sales just a couple months earlier than they did. They started selling in the fall of last year, just weeks before the stock market crashed and there was a fundamental shift in the Toronto real estate market.

That being said, they are doing pretty well in terms of sales and definitely better than other projects that launched in the second half of 2008. 212 out of 366 units have been sold in the first tower to be released. That’s just under 60% sold. TD bank has told them they need to acheive 70% to secure their financing. That works out to roughly another 45 units to go. Don’t expect to see the second tower released any time soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t even release it at all in 2009.

Many of the prime units at U are now gone, and prices certainly have increased since the initial launch back in the fall, but there are many units still available. Prices for most are in the mid $600s per square foot. This number may seem high, but it is really not out of line with what is available and selling in the area. My own feeling is that over the long term, the Yorkville area centred at Bay and Bloor will remain one of the preeminent neighbourhoods in Toronto. 

For more information on U Condos, please contact me.

Links

Recent Globe and Mail article on U Condominiums

Developer’s official site

There may be bad news in the months to come, but this post is about some positive news from Canderel Stoneridge – the developer behind College Park 3: Aura. There is an application in with the City of Toronto for a lane closure on Gerrard Street at Yonge Street commencing in January and lasting for 57 months (nearly 5 years).

This is a good sign and presumably it means that construction will commence around January/February of ’09. If it did, that would be less than 1 year since sales started on the project which is actually quite fast for a new development of this size and magnitude. 

My own opinion is that the financial crisis will delay far more projects than it actually cancels. Developers who have sold 50+% of their projects will be loathe to simply abandon them due to a temporary downturn in the availability of credit. I do expect occupancy dates for many pre-sold condos not yet under construction to shift forward significantly as the developers will all have to ‘wait in line’ to get money from the bank before they can start building.

Special thanks to the good folks at UrbanToronto.ca for the tip on this news about Aura. 

For more information on College Park Aura, including current availability and pricing, please contact me.

Downloads:

PDF of the Staff Report for the lane closure

PDF map showing the lane closure

I just spoke to my contact for U Condos and he informed me that there will be something coming up likely next week. I expect to have some great information for my clients including floor plans and pricing for U Condos by the end of next week.

Floor plans and pricing available now!

The project is looking absolutely spectacular: amazing location, gorgeous architecture by “Starchitect” Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance, top-end finishes, and the floor plans are top-notch.

Prices are in the  $600-$700 per square foot range, roughly on par with College Park Aura, Ice Condos, or 300 Front.

Nov. 4 Update: Plenty of great units still available. Now reserving units until Nov. 6 only! Sales office is NOT open to the public. Please Contact Me and I will send you the latest pricing and floor plans. Tower 2 will not be released until Tower 1 is sold out.

U Condos – Deposit Structure:

• $5,000 with offer
• Balance to 5% of Purchase Price in 30 days
• 5% of the Purchase Price in 90 days
• 5% of the Purchase Price in 270 days
• 5% of the Purchase Price in 365 days
• 5% of the Purchase Price on Occupancy

U Condos -  Maintenance Fees

• $0.45 per square foot including heat, water, building insurance, common elements expenses
• Hydro separately metered

U Condos – Parking/Lockers

• Parking $38,000 – wait list for units under 600 square feet (Innis & Trinity models)
• Lockers $5,700 – Limited release

Downloads:

• Features and finishes

[slideshow=1,500,375]

U Condos is obviously named for it’s proximity to the University of Toronto’s St George Campus, which it shares neighbourhood space with on the corner of Bay St and St Mary St, just south of Bay and Bloor. Definitely considered one of Toronto’s best locations, Bay and Bloor is the heart of the Bloor-Yorkville and Toronto’s best shopping street.

The project will consist of two residential towers, one 45 storeys and 55 storeys high. Prices will start in the low $300s. The developer is Pemberton Group – the same developer behind another project in the neighbourhood – The Uptown Residences, Park Lake Residences, and The Boardwalk Residences in The Beach.  Contact me now for more information on U Condos.

Nov. 4 Update: Sales on now. Go to AndrewLaFleur.com/u-condos-vip for all the latest info. Plenty of great units still available. Now reserving units until Nov. 6 only! Sales office is NOT open to the public. Please Contact Me and I will send you the latest pricing and floor plans. Tower 2 will not be released until Tower 1 is sold out.

These luxury townhomes are truly one of a kind in the downtown core. Canderel only made a few of these as part of the award winning College Park development at Bay and College. A select few will be available for resale this spring. Most of these exquisite townhomes have never been lived in and are available for immediate occupancy.

These 3 bedroom, 2000 square feet townhomes will not last long. Prices will be in the $1M plus range. Please contact me asap if you are interested in purchasing one of these rare properties at College Park.

The VIP period is over. The broker’s event basically sold out the building in a matter of hours. See more on the broker’s event on my last two posts over at blogTO.com. But does that mean there are no suites left? NO! THERE ARE STILL SUITES AVAILABLE AT AURA!

All of the suites currently available are on the executive level floors (56 and higher) and are starting at around $500-600K for 1+dens. The executive level suites are entirely upgraded from top to bottom and are in fact, a separate condominium altogether from the lower floors. Canderel has done something quite unique in separating the lower and upper floors into what will eventually be 2 condo corporations within 1 building. An interesting fact: the maintenance fees are much lower  on the executive levels than the lower levels (33 cents per square foot versus 49 cents on the lower), although the prices are much higher due to the various upgrades. If you are interested in purchasing an Executive Level suite at Aura, please contact me.

So what is next? Next up is going to be the highly anticipated PUBLIC LAUNCH. Yes, they have held off specific floors for the public launch. However, they have not held off very many floors. They have not announced the date of the public launch, however, it will likely be either the first or second Saturday in April. As soon as the public launch date is announced I do expect there will be a line up of agents once again at the door of the sales office. They will once again wait for days and days to get their shot at buying a unit.

What will the prices be at the public launch and what suites will be available? Those questions are anyone’s guess. We will have to wait and see what happens.

If you are still interested in purchasing a suite at Aura, please contact me to discuss the best strategy for getting you the unit you want.

What is the deposit structure on this project?

The deposit structure will be as follows:
$5,000 with offer
Balance of 5% in 10 days
5% in 90 days
5% in 180 days
5% in 360 days
5% on Occupancy

How much for parking and locker?

Parking spots are $35,000 and lockers are $5000.

Are there any restrictions on parking?

Yes. Only units sized 700 square feet or more are eligible for parking.

When is the expected occupancy date?

June 2012

Have more questions? Contact me now.Click here for ALL related posts about College Park 3: Aura.