New condos mississauga . Is there a retrogression in condominium living in Canada? In the past five years, with the rise of skyscraper apartments in major cities in Canada, especially in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, apartment-oriented and high-density living has become a trend in big cities and will not be reversed.
The reason is very simple: Canada continues to absorb immigrants, the population of big cities is growing, and the land area is limited. Then many old independent housing areas will be converted into apartments, urban housing areas, the living density is naturally increasing.
However, who would have expected that the sudden arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 would have an impact on most industries, and real estate was no exception. Sales in all three major cities halved in April. Not only that, but also let the public, let real estate experts have a kind of thinking:
After years of condominization, do you really have to press the pause button or even the backwards button? Will apartments continue to flourish when working from home has become mainstream and commuting convenience is not important?
The apartment group in the center of the city is the most densely populated. For example, West End in Vancouver is the most densely populated community in the city, and high-rise apartments abound. Of course, the biggest reason for living in an apartment in the center of the city is the proximity to work and the hustle and bustle of life.
However, as many experts have said, the dark clouds of the epidemic will persist for a long time, and even with the vaccine, the disease cannot be directly cured. So the way people work is accelerating: in the past two days, Twitter (Twitter) has announced that it will allow some employees to work from home permanently!
Office aside, the population density in the center of the city and the risk of infection are much greater than living in a villa in a marginal city. Inconvenient life? Any small city in Canada has a community center, business center, and there is no problem with food, clothing, housing and transportation.
This trend has shaken residents living in big urban centers such as Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary: will high-rise apartments in transportation hubs still be our first choice? And under the influence of the epidemic, it is not safe to take the bus and subway.
Andy Yan, a professor of urban planning at Simon Fraser University, points out that from 1991 to 2017, apartments in Vancouver and Toronto have been described as smaller and smaller. The average size of each apartment in Vancouver has shrunk by 20% and Toronto by 32%.
The reason is very simple: the population is increasing, housing and land prices are getting higher, and if you want to afford it and have a house to live in, you can only accept the fact that the apartment is getting smaller. What used to be a two-bedroom apartment is now in Toronto, Vancouver, and even a 1000-foot two-bedroom apartment.
However, Professor Andy says the “safe distance” problem caused by COVID-19 ‘s epidemic will reverse a trend that has been going on for nearly 30 years: people will realize the importance of large space, even in apartments. Big makes it more expensive? If you live farther away, it doesn’t matter if you lose some “commuting convenience”.
Therefore, for developers, they will reconsider the construction of large-scale apartment projects in the city center. For example, whether to reduce the total number of households in a building, increase the area and so on. Will the price be more expensive? Then let those who can afford it buy it.
Andy also gives developers a piece of advice: if you don’t want to make too many changes in the number of households, increase the area of public space as much as possible, distance people away, and promote sense of security. For example, the gym is bigger, the green space is bigger, the conference room is bigger, the elevator is bigger, and there are as many elevators as possible.
David Wachsmuth, a professor at McGill University, said that after the second World War, governments encouraged people living in the city center to move to the suburbs, which is cleaner and more comfortable.
This is because World War II left many cities in ruins, and the disinfection and reconstruction of cities will continue for a long time. If there are too many residents in the center of the city, it will affect the reconstruction work of the government.
Professor David thinks it is unlikely, because the difference between the nature of an epidemic and war is that it does not “hurt” the appearance of the city. But even if the government does not encourage it, people will rethink what is the best way to live.
Don’t forget that the epidemic has reduced the purchasing power of most people, and even if they want to live in apartments, they will choose cheaper apartments and more remote apartments. In terms of purchasing power, population density and living density, the apartments in the city center will be the hardest hit in the next few years.
By letting employees work from home, big companies can at least reduce the pressure on office rents, but the loss will be irreparable in the event of a sharp decline in the number of buyers of apartments in the city center.
In our article released last week, we introduced the views of many experts in Vancouver on the trend of Dawen Real Estate: because of the shortage of land, the increasing population, and the position of the real estate industry in Dawen, so house prices will not fall, as the April sales data have proved.
What about other cities? For example, Montreal, which is most affected by the epidemic? David Wachsmuth, a professor at McGill University, also said that it will not fall, and house prices will not fall in any city in Canada.
It’s still simple: Quebec’s population will grow and immigrants will pour in. During the two years plagued by the epidemic, the number of new housing starts will be greatly reduced. With a growing population and a shrinking supply, how can house prices fall? Recently, people who want to sell their houses for cash can breathe a sigh of relief.
After visiting a number of developers, the conclusion is that “We will not reduce the price of existing projects, even if it is not easy to sell.” This is true in Montreal, not to mention Toronto and Vancouver, where the epidemic is relatively mild.
Therefore, the impact of the epidemic on Canadian real estate will not be at the price level, but the concept of housing: how much will the mainstream way of living with high density and convenient commuting change? Will detached houses become the trend again? This question is waiting to be answered by the actual actions of the Canadian people.
