Condo Construction Update - Lanterra

Burano - Lanterra Developments

 

Lanterra Has a Flare for Urban Renewal - Toronto Star:


In just over a decade in the condo business, the duo behind Lanterra Developments has demonstrated a talent for transforming neglected parts of the city into bustling mixed-use communities. “We always seem to be the contrarians,” explained company president and CEO Barry Fenton one recent morning at the now-vacant Sutton Place Hotel. The timeworn tower at Bay and Wellesley Sts. will be redeveloped into
 “The Britt,” a 650-suite luxury glass condo with 20,000 square feet of retail space that Lanterra hopes will spark revitalization along that stretch of Bay.


 “We’re usually the first to get into an area and redevelop it.” Case in point: North of the Gardiner Expressway, Lanterra helped turn what was once the no-man’s land between Front St. and Lake Shore Blvd. into a new centre of gravity, a mixed-use hub of condos, shops, restaurants and entertainment. The Residences of Maple Leaf Square includes two towers, the boutique Hôtel le Germain, offices and more than 100,000-square-feet of retail space.


Nearby, along York St., Lanterra is building Ïce Condos, which will comprise a pair of iconic 67- and 57-storey towers, an office building and a landscaped public square. “When you look at what we’ve created between the dome (the Rogers Centre) and Air Canada Centre,” Fenton says, “if we hadn’t gone in and played Monopoly and created the synergy by doing Maple Leaf Square and Ïce, I don’t believe you would have seen the few million square feet of office space and the other condos and hotels that are now going in.” Lanterra achieved something similar with its maiden development, WaterPark City, a two-tower, 2,000-unit project that pioneered the Fort York neighbourhood and spawned a condo cluster at Bathurst and Fleet Sts.


Getting a Mortgage and Mortgage Insurance through Empire Life for financing a loan to purchase at FIVE Condos is actually a relatively easy process, and new rules from the federal government has required that company include new regulations, which have made the home loan and mortgage process a bit more difficult. Those changes at Empire Life include shortening the amortization period for which the loan can be held by the consumer, and the degree to which the property is financed by the mortgage. They have also increased deposit requirements to lift the loan insurance amount. Mortgage insurance from Empire Life is actually one of the major financing costs on home loans.

Investment Trusts have no taken to looking to purchase rental properties and acquiring mortgages through financing auctions by the banks looking to shore up their balances sheets in light of stricter government regulation. These regulations have actually made holding residential mortgages by the large financial institutions harder to hold. Currently investors are looking to increase their position in rental properties in Toronto, at the same time the federal government in co-operation with the financial institutions are making getting and qualifying for loans and mortgages more difficult

Empire Life : What is Condo Insurance?
Condo Insurance is required to protect your personal contents from theft or fire damage in your condo if these unforeseen events should happen you should make sure that you have adequate protection. Some items in your condo are will also be protected by your condo association insurance policy which covers the general building. The events that are covered by condo insurance include Fire, as well as Lighting. Other weather related causes such as Windstorms, and Hail are also covered. The major one that most people worry about is theft which is covered by condo contents insurance policies.

Toronto Condo Market Report – February 26, 2014

Toronto Condo Prices continue to trend upwards, as sales also move up with general improvement not only in the Toronto economy, but the nation as a whole. Condo sale prices have not increased to the same degree as detached family housing, due to new supply coming onstream. However fears of a condo bubble, have not proved accurate, as trends move to the upside. Average Home prices are still up in Toronto, and look like they will continue to rise for the remainder of 2014. Year over year, detached housing prices increased by over 14%. Just amazing.

What to Expect for Home and Condo Prices in 2015 in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area

The latest reports on the Toronto Real Estate market predict that the condo prices if left unsupported will fall, due to oversupply. However, this prediction has been the case for over 10 years now, and nothing has come to pass with regard to any major price drop even with predictions of a correction coming from the world’s largest and most respected financial institutions.

Toronto is on the verge of becoming a high end retailing mecca, and this will force up home prices as well as condo prices in the central core. Word that big US retailers like Saks, Nordstorms and Target are moving into the Canadian Space, and primarily within the downtown Toronto core is likely to increase the desirability of those areas with the best access to high end shopping experiences.