I mean, look at the Bay Area. They command some of the highest rents in the country, and many tech-sector workers are able to "get by" because of higher salaries from their employers. Of course, if you're not in the tech sector, you're forced to live in more affordable outskirts, like East Bay.
In NYC, they have fantastic transit, so if you don't live in Manhattan, you can still get to work relatively easily. That infrastructure investment has helped NYC maintain its desirability.
Meanwhile, Toronto has a similar problem to Vancouver, except we're building tons of condos. As long as you adjust your outlook to realize that you may only be able to afford a condominium (to buy or rent), you can make it work. Otherwise, you can move to the suburbs, but our transit is garbage, so good luck with that.
Of course, I've simplified my points and glossed over the nuances. But I think the solution is really:
1) Higher density housing (i.e. high-rise residential)
2) Much better transit
3) Options for affordable rent-subsidized housing in these developments
If you do those things, I think you'll make it easier for millenials to choose to stay, and still encourage a diverse community that's not made up of just high-income tech or finance workers. Places like Hong Kong, Tokyo, NYC, Singapore, and many more seem to be thriving cities, and I think those are the factors they have in common.
On a weekday, Caltrain stops going south between midnight and 5 AM. Bart going east shuts down around the same time.
In Manhattan, subways run all night to the different boros, Metro-north, the LIRR, PATH, NJ transit etc. run through the night.
People say NYC is expensive, and living on the upper east side or west village can be expensive. But plenty of safe, cheaper places are a 20 minute train ride from Manhattan, and even more are a 30 minute train ride (and so on). You don't get options like that in the Bay Area.
Toronto's transit is indeed pretty trash. I want to move down to the city but I'm split on whether to put in a down-payment for a condo or piss away my equity by renting. They say the condo market is very volatile right now. Not sure how true this is because I am not very well versed on the subject.
Hey there, I used to work in the condo industry in Toronto. If you had asked me 5-10 years ago if buying a condo was the right decision, I would have said yes. But now, absolutely not.
What changed is the respect the builders have for the people buying and living in their buildings. 5-10 years ago, condos were a bit more rare, so a construction company had to try really hard to make their condo appealing. They worked slower and the architecture was much more livable. Spacious units, sensible parking and elevators, and catchy amenities like pools and fitness rooms.
Now, they pump out condos like a sweatshop. Instead of 8 units on a floor, there are now 12. Instead of a pool, you get a gym, and instead of a fitness room, you get a yoga studio. Elevators that serve more than 30 floors are too expensive, so those 50+ storey condos need 2 elevators; one to take you from 1-30, and another to take you to from 30-50. Every single new condo in the last 5 years is in litigation with the developer due to issues with the building. Contractors like plumbers and electricians know the game now too, so every bill from a contractor will be $999 (regardless of work done) because anything over $1000 requires board approval. Without a strong property management team, I expect half of the condos will be bankrupt within a decade.
If you want to buy a condo, buy one in a building that is more than 10 years old. They will have sorted out the engineering problems by then and their budgets will be inline.
Heh,
Things I've heard about recently in Toronto new-build condos:
1) Mailboxes are in the basement, so you can't check on your way in.
2) Each unit having a loud spaceship/heat pump instead of one central one. Heat pump is leased, not owned by the unit, so you're paying $45/month in perpetuity. Maintenance not included.
3) Submetering of electricity, where a quarter to half of your bill is in the delivery charge from a random power company (times x units of the building, instead of one for the whole building and incl. it in condo fees)
4) New condo board isn't allowed to fix/improve various promised things until the builder fixes it. Builder waits for it to time-out for 3 years and then the Board has to arbitrate/mediate it with the Builder. Meanwhile, condo board can't touch it.
5) Builders signing exclusive contracts with telecoms, so you can't get service from anyone else.
6) Locks not keyed right, so residents' keys can open mechanical rooms/rooftop access
7) Gym on the second floor, so residents below feel like they're living in a bowling alley
Well, thank you for your perspective - I guess I won't be buying any property any time soon - or at least not until I do extensive homework. Thing is - as bad as the situation may look like now compared to 5-10 years ago - I'm just thinking of how much higher real estate prices will be 5-10 years from now. So if I want to reap any future benefits now looks to be the time. I just feel it would be really unlikely to get deals as good as we had a decade ago. I'd like for the bubble to just pop a little bit before I start thinking about purchasing a condo seriously though.
I mean, look at the Bay Area. They command some of the highest rents in the country, and many tech-sector workers are able to "get by" because of higher salaries from their employers. Of course, if you're not in the tech sector, you're forced to live in more affordable outskirts, like East Bay.
In NYC, they have fantastic transit, so if you don't live in Manhattan, you can still get to work relatively easily. That infrastructure investment has helped NYC maintain its desirability.
Meanwhile, Toronto has a similar problem to Vancouver, except we're building tons of condos. As long as you adjust your outlook to realize that you may only be able to afford a condominium (to buy or rent), you can make it work. Otherwise, you can move to the suburbs, but our transit is garbage, so good luck with that.
Of course, I've simplified my points and glossed over the nuances. But I think the solution is really: 1) Higher density housing (i.e. high-rise residential) 2) Much better transit 3) Options for affordable rent-subsidized housing in these developments
If you do those things, I think you'll make it easier for millenials to choose to stay, and still encourage a diverse community that's not made up of just high-income tech or finance workers. Places like Hong Kong, Tokyo, NYC, Singapore, and many more seem to be thriving cities, and I think those are the factors they have in common.