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Residential real estate in Toronto is as diverse as our population. For the same price, you can purchase a modest family home or an entry-level luxury condo. The two markets serve very different sets of buyers. Young couples who work downtown and want to start a family are looking for detached homes. People searching for luxury condominiums are looking not so much for space but a pampered lifestyle. The more you are willing to pay, the more lux life pampering you get in return.
Developers, such as Menkes, Rosehaven, Camrost-Felcorp and Cityzen, are delivering options to meet the demands of discerning luxury buyers.
Generally, entry-level units clock in between $1.5-million to $2.5-million while high-end units can jettison all the way to $28-million. Just look at the penthouse that sold in 2011 in the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences.
With luxury condos, it's all about location: Yorkville is hot, followed by some downtown pockets and the lakeshore. Other key factors are square footage, ceiling height, finishes, services and terrace size and view. Boutique buildings that are linked with hotels up the ante given their room service and chambermaids.
What do you get at the entry level of luxury? Units range from 600 to 1,500 square feet and are usually lower to the ground. "A concierge is a given, as is visitor parking, possibly a valet and amenities, including gyms and a common entertainment space with catering kitchen, and a media or theatre screen room," says Janice Fox, owner of Hazelton Real Estate, one of the city's prominent luxury brokers.
At the upper end, the sky is almost the limit, with penthouses spanning anywhere from 1,500 to 4,000 square feet. "The $28-million one in the Four Seasons was unique at 9,000 square feet," says Pauline Lierman, director of market research for Urbanation, a company that has tracked the Toronto condo market for 35 years.
Entry-level units clock in between $1.5-million to $2.5-million.High-end units can jettison all the way to $28-million
Four Seasons has certainly set the bar high. Are other condos creeping up to surpass that price tag? "There's always a possibility of one-upmanship in these high-end buildings," says Ms. Lierman. The top-floor penthouse of Trump Tower is for sale at $33-million, but it's been on the market for more than a year.
At the $10-million-plus mark, there is more to choose from. One example is a $10.5-million suite at 50 Yorkville (the Four Seasons) with 5,036 square feet, three bedrooms, walls of south- facing glass and similar amenities.
In the boutique hotel condos, high-end services include daily or weekly cleaning with a change of linen, as well as concierge-arranged dog walking, fresh flowers, a stocked fridge, newspaper delivery and car care. "I had one client who told me, 'I want hot towels delivered every morning and a cappuccino sitting on my kitchen counter when I get up,'" recalls Ms. Fox.
Direct access elevators which avoid shared hallways are a coveted luxury feature, as are heated bathroom floors; indoor barbecues (kitchen grills on gas cook tops with powerful overhead venting); and high security with cameras in elevators and back-stair accesses.
Who's buying these units? Luxury real estate brokers say that most of their clients these days are local.
"Some of our buyers are selling their low-rise homes and reaching for luxury condos," says Barbara Lawlor, president of Pat Baker Real Estate. Downsizing boomers are trading large family spreads for a high-end, high-rise address downtown.
Plus, luxury condos appeal to executives with a jet-set schedule and no time for home maintenance. In some instances, offshore buyers are investing in upscale downtown digs for their children who are studying here.
"A few of my clients who bought at the Four Seasons are from the Middle East or Far East," says Ms. Fox. "With all the amenities at the condo, they know their children are being taken care of." There's also room for parents who come to visit. "One parent asked if there was a heli-pad on the top of the building they could use. I had to tell her in downtown Toronto helicopters are used for emergency services."
Toronto is bursting with lux options, but even at the highest of the high end there are a few limits when it comes to the sky.
This content was produced by The Globe and Mail's advertising department. The Globe's editorial department was not involved in its creation.