The Toronto luxury real estate market has been incredibly hot in the past few years. With the pandemic changing how everyone lived, having a luxurious space to call your own has become even more important. Toronto homes for sale, especially downtown or along the waterfront, were always expensive and difficult to secure.
If you’re considering buying Toronto luxury real estate and you’re not sure what to expect, keep reading. These are the six most important things you need to keep in mind when navigating the market, making decisions, and placing an offer on a home.
Multiple bids are still common, but calming down
In 2021, Toronto houses for sale couldn’t be listed fast enough. Regardless of their location within the Greater Toronto Area, homes were flying off the market at an alarming pace, with most not going even a full week or two before receiving an offer. Toronto luxury real estate often saw multiple bids, huge cash down payments, and no-contingency sales.
Now in 2022, the market is still hot, but it’s not quite as spicy as it was last year. This means it’s a much better time to start looking at Toronto luxury real estate, versus where the market was a year ago. Multiple bids are still being placed, but they’re often not as high as they once were, and buyers are able to negotiate a little bit more to get their dream home.
You’ll need a large down payment
If you haven’t been looking into Toronto houses for sale recently, you may not realize you need a relatively large down payment—especially if you want to get into Toronto luxury real estate. If you’re planning on taking out a mortgage for your net home, by law you’re going to need at least 20% down. With the average luxury property in Toronto going for well over that, you’re going to need a sizable down payment.
For some buyers, this doesn’t pose a problem at all—especially if you’re paying for the majority, or all, of the home in cash. For others, though, you may need to sell your current home before actually searching for the Toronto luxury home of your dreams. It’s certainly something to keep in mind and can catch some new buyers by surprise, so make sure you don’t get caught unprepared (and underfinanced) by making sure you qualify for a large enough down payment to successfully bid on your next home.
There’s a lot of variety
The good news about Toronto luxury real estate is that there’s a lot of variety, depending on your own personal needs and where you want to be. Downtown condos are often new, luxurious, and beautiful—the larger spaces tend to be harder to find, though, so keep that in mind if you want to really spread out.
The farther you get from downtown—and the closer you get to the water—the more room you’ll have. However, Toronto houses for sale with land and water views are at a premium right now. You can expect these prices to hold for a long time.
Everyone wants Toronto luxury real estate right on the water. If you're looking for something along the waterfront with a spectacular view of the city, you'll most likely want to consider a luxury condo. You'll discover many luxury condominium options along Toronto's waterfront, ranging from 1-bedroom suites to impressive 2-floor penthouses with a bird's eye view of the city. You can find Toronto condos for sale stretching from Humber Bay Shores on the west end of Toronto to The Port Lands on the east. While there are plenty of luxury condos throughout the city and into the Greater Toronto Area (including such areas like Mississauga, Richmond Hill, and Nort York), the waterfront condos overlooking Lake Ontario in downtown are on a whole other level.
The luxury condo market in Toronto is on fire as waterfront living becomes more in-demand. Like mentioned above, over the past ten years, waterfront condos at Humber Bay Shores in Etobicoke has developed into a major condominium community and is only continuing to grow with major development in the works (such as the Mr. Christie’s Project Development). On the east end, The Port Lands has exploded in growth over the past five years as more and more condos start popping up along the waterfront.
Regardless of which side of Toronto you want to relocate to, there’s plenty of opportunity to find your own piece of luxury real estate—whether it’s a larger home with plenty of space to move and grow or a waterfront condo with great views of the lake.
Don’t be offended: The listing agent will be there
An interesting quirk when it comes to Toronto luxury real estate is that the listing agent is often present at showings. This has become so common that some buyers have even started judging the quality and condition of the Toronto houses for sale they’re looking at based on if the listing agent is in attendance.
Some buyers new to the area may take offense to this, so come prepared. The listing agent will probably want to lead the tour and point out the best part of the home. They’re not trying to micromanage the way you see or experience the property! In fact, you should take advantage of their presence. If they’re going to be there anyway, ask lots of questions about the home, the condition, the neighborhood, best things to do and local restaurants recommendations, and so on. The listing agent is here to showcase the home, so why not ask them more about it and the surrounding area?
At the same time, make sure you save any candid comments or discussions after the showing with with your own agent. Showing your hand too early is the worst thing you can do in these situations.
Stick to a plan
Toronto luxury real estate can be very overwhelming, even for an experienced buyer. Toronto itself and the Greater Toronto Area as a whole has so much to offer—there are numerous luxurious neighborhoods, styles of homes, amenities, recreation opportunities, and dining scenes, and entertainment options to consider. It’s easy to get caught up in a home that doesn't fit your needs or be so overrun with choices that you end up missing out altogether.
Before even starting the process of looking at Toronto houses for sale, write down some must-haves for your luxury home. It could be something like a pool being essential to you, a view of the water being non-negotiable, or even that five bedrooms plus a home office space is required. Whatever matters to your family and your needs, write it all down.
When comparing Toronto luxury real estate listings, refer back to your list. This is going to help keep everything in perspective for you, and when it comes to placing an offer on a home, you will have a much better idea of what you need. Of course, there may be negotiations and concessions to make, but knowing exactly what you want, what you’re willing to compromise around, and what are absolute must-haves, will make the entire home searching and buying process that much easier for both you and your agent.
You can’t do it alone
Whether you’re searching for a dream home with lots of space or a luxury condo with waterfront views and all the amenities you could hope for, If you’re convinced that Toronto luxury real estate is where you need to be, a good agent is going to make a major difference. Many luxury listings are never put on the open market, or, if they are, you need a realtor to represent you before you can even get a showing. A good realtor can also help guide you when sifting through Toronto’s numerous houses for sale, will know what a property is worth, and can negotiate on your behalf to get you the perfect home.
If you don’t have a realtor yet, your next phone call should be to Fred Renna. Fred has helped buy and sell millions of dollars as an elite Toronto real estate agent, and he has a personal philosophy that revolves around listening and building connections with his clients to better serve them. He also holds a certification as a Master Certified Negotiation Expert, which means he’s more than equipped to sit down at the table to get you the deal you need and deserve. There’s no one better in Toronto to find you your dream home.
