Quote:
Originally Posted by DZH22
As an outsider I am very impressed with the beyond ridiculous level of construction in Toronto. When I went in 2002, Boston's skyline at least rivaled Toronto's (for example, 16 500' towers to 11 for Toronto). However, Toronto is literally building the equivalent of my entire city's skyline RIGHT NOW!
So my question is, are these towers actually being filled up? How can the demand be there to build one humongous condo, after another, after another? Is Toronto's population exploding or something? I guess I just don't understand how this is sustainable, especially with all of the proposals right around the corner. I think it's cool as hell, but... how can a city change this drastically in such a short amount of time?
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A good amount of it is overseas investments. You literally have individuals/groups buying entire floors when a new condo is launched.
Typically condos are sold out even before they are open to the public. It's usually speculators that are buying the majority of the units (I read 80% of the units are overseas investors from India, China, Russia, Iran and so forth).
They are hoping that their investment will continue to grow (real estate is often seen as a 'safe bet'). But once those investments no longer grow or the price of condos crash, it's going to be a mess.
There is also an oversupply of condos and overbuilding. The developers don't care, because as long as they are selling, it's motivation to keep building. No one is really thinking of a market correction at this point, which is unfortunate.
There is a lot of money coming into Toronto as well, mostly from China and India and so forth. There is a ridiculous amount of building going on in the city. If you were to drive around, you would see cranes literally everywhere - not just in the core of downtown. Sometimes it even bewilders me where people are getting their money to afford all the new condo apartments.