Dec 4, 2009- About 80 per cent of Toronto condo buyers are young, first-time homebuyers, experts say.
Next year, a record 20,000 condos will come online in Toronto, making the city the largest condominium market in terms of production in North America, condo consultant Barry Lyon told the CBC this week.
Things have changed since the city's first condo boom in the 1980s, when 80 per cent of buyers were retirees.
Low interest rates and relative affordability for most young home-buyers are attributed to the condo's appeal towards young people, research assistant with N. Barry Lyon Consultants Ltd. Jasmine Cracknell told the CBC.
Cracknell also pointed out that the condo market can not become over-saturated because the law ensures that condo developments require 70 per cent of the units be sold before construction begins. Foreign buyers are also very attracted to the Toronto condo market, as comparatively $500 per square foot is more affordable than New York's $2,000 per square foot.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association's data, Toronto's residential housing sales have increased by 64 per cent since last year. A good portion of these sales are thought to be condo units. The average price for a home in Toronto is $423,507, which is a 20 per cent increase from last year.