Hard lofts in Toronto are doing way better than any other condo type
It is a bloodbath in Toronto right now if you're a condo owner (myself included). Especially if you happened to buy during the glory days of late 2021 and into early 2022 (also me, reach out if you want to cry together over a pint). Blanket appraisals, people losing deposits on pre-construction projects, it is not pretty. The condo market has more unsold inventory sitting on the shelf than we've seen in 15 years. Average price per square foot has dropped from its peak of $1,045 to a current $812, a 22.2% decrease. Meaning a 500 square foot condo that sold for $522,000 would now be selling for roughly $406,000. If you put this next to the last housing decline we had in the early 90s, we still have a ways to go down (about 30% before recovery started).
The one place in the condo market that hasn't seen a huge price decrease, however, is hard lofts. These are the converted factories, warehouses, plants and even churches that once produced all sorts of things across this city; candy, chocolate, toys, knitted... things. One of Toronto's most iconic conversions, and one of the first, is the Candy Factory Lofts on Queen West, done in the late 90s. Average price per square foot there is still $1,223. You may ask why. I believe it is strictly a cool factor with exposed brick and beams and being able to see the inner workings of your HVAC system appeals to some of us. But more importantly, you can't build more of them.
Supply cannot increase. Any newer hard loft conversions you may notice don't have nearly the same amount of exposed wood. That's because of updated fire code, sprinkler heads spaced a foot apart on the ceiling would ruin the whole vibe. With construction cost soaring as well as land values, it doesn't make sense to build these anymore, low unit count boutique buildings with not a lot of amenities don't appeal to the Toronto condo investor. Some would argue that that is not a bad thing as our housing became more of a commodity than somewhere to live and utterly ruined part of our housing. But I digress. I secretly hope we will see some new hard lofts built for the end-user in some of these older buildings.
As I write this, there are roughly 27 true hard loft units for sale within city limits, and about 5,800 other condo units (over $200,000, removing parking spaces, lockers, etc.). You get the picture they're rare and they're cool. Clearly I like them. I have a website dedicated to them.
They were not immune to the downturn, though. If you bought one at the peak in 2022 and tried to flip it 18 months later, you're still in the red. Just not as deep as the rest of us.