Toronto has undergone a massive transformation in the past 20 years. While it has long held the title of Canada’s largest city, throughout the past two decades Toronto has gone from a moderately sized city, to one of the most important economic hubs and population centres in North America — even overtaking Chicago as the fourth largest city on the continent in 2013.

This population growth has had a palpable effect on the city’s skyline, especially in the downtown core. Once replete with brownfields and underutilized properties, Toronto is now characterised by soaring skyscrapers, and we’re only seeing the beginning of this trend. New towers are set to fill Toronto’s city scape, which will go on to contribute to Toronto’s rapidly climbing population.

But will it be enough?

Despite the myriad of towers being built in Toronto’s downtown core, experts fear that it won’t be enough to fulfill the increased demand of living in the city. So what’s driving this population growth, and how can the city and developers adjust to create enough housing supply for the growing demand?

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Toronto’s Booming Downtown Core

Toronto is growing at a rapid pace. According to Richard Silver, Certified International Property Specialist and Global Real Estate Advisor with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, the city is seeing a net immigration of 100,000 residents from both inside and outside Canada each year. This is largely due to the wealth of job opportunities, successful businesses and financial institutions that have come to the city centre.

This largely explains the condo boom that we’ve seen in the city over the past few decades, as residents are increasingly drawn to homes that are in close proximity to their work due to gridlock in the city’s transportation network. It also explains the surging condo prices in the downtown core. According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, the average price of a condo in Toronto has gone from $376,226 in 2014 to $603,243 in 2019.

The desire to live close to work has gone on to create much more community driven development in the city as well. Developers aren’t just building condo towers in the city, they’re also building community staples like schools, art centres, pools, and community parks.

“Just look at Regent Park,” Silver points out, “It was once run down public housing, and today it’s a thriving community with schools, pools, community centres, and its Artscape that supports performances and other events. I think we need to give a shout out to the Daniels’ Corporation who’s built these facilities and performance venues in Regent Park. They’ve really done a fantastic job.”

2221 Yonge Condos

Beyond The City Centre

The downtown core isn’t the only region that’s seeing an increased level of development in the city. New development is happening across the entire city, especially along Toronto’s subway lines.

“Transit is one of the most important things for the city’s future,” Silver explains, “a lot of the development you see has to do with the proximity of the subway system.”

There is plenty of evidence to back up Silver’s claims. Yonge and Eglinton is officially in North Toronto, and it was once considered on the city’s outskirts, but today it’s home to some of the most prominent real estate projects. This is largely due to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT that’s being constructed in the area. The Crosstown will be a new light rail transit system that travels down the Eglinton corridor, and it will converge with Line 1 at Yonge and Eglinton, and it will connect with Lines 2 and 3 at Kennedy Station in the east, providing much improved access to the entire GTA.

We’ve also seen a lot of new development in Vaughan because of the recent Line 1 extension. Untouched expanses of land surrounding the new Vaughan Metropolitan Centre are now the sites for multiple new projects thanks to the new connection to Downtown Toronto. We can see how this has affected the housing prices in the region, with the average condo in Vaughan going for $374,112 in 2014, and now $547,620 in 2019.

Silver explains that, despite its cost, it’s vital that the city doesn’t stop expanding its subway system.

People are going to continue moving to Toronto, and in reality, it isn’t going to get better. There was a time when we stopped building subways, and as painful as it can be, it never should have stopped.

Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Development

Following In New York’s Footsteps

Fortunately, the city has a sort of blueprint that it can follow to successful city building. New York City is the largest city in the United States, and the second largest in North America. More importantly, it is the most critical economic centre in the world.

Many cities, including Toronto, have looked to New York as a touchstone on how to build a thriving city centre. It has even reached common vernacular as Toronto’s development intensification is widely referred to as the ‘Manhattanization of Toronto.’

When looking at the enhanced development and population increases that New York has undergone, Silver sees one vital trend: people typically move to locations that are more accessible to work. “It’s going to become like New York where people move closer to their respective workplaces or you face hours in traffic.”

Silver also contemplated an alternative scenario when comparing Toronto and New York. With remote work becoming increasingly viable, you could also see people living outside of the GTA and only coming to the city centre when necessary.

You look at New York, and people actually live in North Carolina and come into the city just once a month. That’s going to start happening here.

With condos going for an average of $358,287 in the Durham Region, $439,141 in Peel, and $459,420 in Halton in 2019, these could very well be the next focal points of growth in the GTA.
Building A Better Future

There’s no doubt that Toronto is seeing a lot of development. Toronto currently has the highest numbers of cranes in North America, so it is making an effort to accommodate the high demand for people who want to live in the city. While the development in the downtown core is the most dramatic, there are other areas seeing significant intensification like Yonge & Eglinton, Yonge & Sheppard, and Vaughan, but there are still ways to improve.

The city needs to make transit extensions and maintenance a bigger priority. The effects of delayed subways construction can be felt across the city. The Finch West LRT Project serves as an important example of why transit extensions are so important to a growing city. Its delay in construction has created significant gridlock in the area, and at 49,000 daily riders, its bus route is the busiest in the city.

Richard Silver also points out that it may up to developers to make the hard choice and begin building units that aren’t necessarily an easy sell.

For a long time, developers have tried to move the easy smaller project, but they’re forgetting seniors and families. Seniors do want to downsize, but not into 500 square foot units. They’re looking for 1500 square foot condos where they can be comfortable.

He also considers the shifting realities of starting a family in the city.

Toronto has been one of these places where when you were single, you lived in a small condo and you move to a house once you start a family, but that’s changing. People are now focused on their family rather than their living arrangements.

Larger, three bedroom units could be the perfect solution for families interested in living in urban environments.

Only a few years ago, condos were a small fraction of the real estate market, but now they make up the majority of new housing in Toronto. It’s also important to note that condos’ price per square foot has steadily climbed while the freehold homes’ price per square foot has stagnated.

Furthermore, there are more purpose-built rental developments coming to the city. These are large developments that are building units that have no intention to be sold. This could go on to increase the city’s population capacity too.

Together with the focus on community development, creating larger units seems to make a lot of sense. It would provide a new way of urban living that would create integrated and diverse communities that would come together to thrive. If transit is sufficiently improved in coming years, Toronto has the potential to become a massive and dynamic city, and probably the best place in the world to live.
 

Nearly 40 years ago Susan Mendelson launched Lazy Gourmet in Vancouver. She is an entrepreneur, radio personality, cookbook author, and probably the biggest champion of The Nanaimo Bar in Canada. As someone who discovered her passion for the catering biz while she studied social work, it didn’t take long for others to notice Susan’s flare for creating fantastic foods, that made her events a resounding success.

As her milestone business anniversary approaches this fall, Susan reflects on her beginnings, her inspirations, and the hard work it took for her to see a successful business that could weather the many changes of the highly competitive food industry.

What inspired you to start your own catering company?

As a child I loved to cook and bake, but I never thought it would be my career. I was studying social work at UBC and was fortunate enough to get a job working nights at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. I was making decent money but it was hard making ends meet so I started making Nanaimo bars, cheesecake, and carrot cake, and selling it at intermission. I was making 50 pieces a night in my small apartment kitchen, at 50 cents an item. Soon people would call ahead to try to reserve their food selections.

Over time I was asked to cater for the venue and I’d get a budget to work with. One day I got a call from a city counsellor who asked me to cater her wedding. I told her I wasn’t a caterer and she insisted I cater her big day. So, I catered this wedding, and everyone for the city was there. Soon after that the Head of Social planning for Vancouver contacted me with a concept. He was bringing 250 performers from around the world, for children, and wanted me to arrange all of the food for the performers while they were there for 8 days. He got me a learning initiative grant, to get started.

The festival was in June, so I had six weeks to learn the business of catering. I worked my butt off, hired out of work actors to help me and we did breakfast and lunch, and dinners for the 60 people from Russia (who were hosted at a friends’ home), and performers from Japan who came to my house for dinner each night. By the end of the eight days I was so exhausted I slept for a week. I soon realized if I didn’t go into catering, I would regret it. It was my passion. The woman who hosted the Russian performers and I started The Lazy Gourmet and never looked back.

How did you start working in radio and on your cookbooks?

I had already been working on a cookbook for several years before my business was official. CBC Radio approached me about my baking and asked me to come on air and talk about it. I wouldn’t give them my exact recipe for cheesecake, but I would give them tips on transforming a regular cheesecake into a chocolate cheesecake. I even did this cheeky show for baking for a New Year’s Eve, that ended up with bakers kicking off the New Year in bed with champagne and chocolate cheesecake at midnight. I was asked to come back for Valentine’s and do a show on aphrodisiacs, so I headed to the library to get started on my research.

In the middle of my call with CBC Radio one day my boss at Vancouver East Cultural Centre picked up the line and said he was my agent and asked them to pay me. They listened! Soon I had a regular spot on CBC. I was on every Thursday afternoon for a show called Ace in the Kitchen. People would call in after the show for the recipe, and we’d take down addresses and mail out the recipes each week. We knew people were collecting these recipes and in the fall of 1980 my first cookbook, Mama Never Cooked Like This, came out and my recipe for the Nanaimo bar was in a cookbook for the first time. The Cooking Bookstore in Toronto on Yonge Street told me they sold over 1,000 copies to people who were buying for that recipe alone. This really helped put the Nanaimo bar on the map.

Tell me about your education, background, and experience that helped prepare you for this?

Within the first year I realized how little I knew, so I brought in consultants and they really were my MBA program. They helped me determine what worked and didn’t over the years to help me grow the company. In the first five or six years of the company I put out five cookbooks and by the time 1985 came around it was Expo 1986, and I was asked to be the official souvenir cookbook for Expo 1986 (as the only cookbook for sale on the property) which helped spread The Nanaimo Bar around the world.

Why has sustainability always been such an important part of your business model?

I think it’s really an awareness of the planet and waste. It’s about being organized and recognizing that you don’t want waste and destroy the planet with garbage. That has really been put into our business very early with a program where we send our food to different shelters at the end of the evening. Why should delicious food go into the garbage?

We’ve been working with sustainable practices for over two decades and we don’t really think about it. My husband and I have a home that is Leed Platinum and when you design something like that you improve your quality of life.

What advice would you give to an entrepreneur looking to carve out their own brand?

Be prepared to work your ass off. You must work harder than you’d ever imagine, you must be prepared to go through the ups and downs and have a lot of grit. My former partner and I always say, ‘If we knew how much work it would be, we may have thought twice’. Believe in yourself and trust in your intuition along the way. Constantly reinvent yourself, you can’t be in business for 40 years and do the exact same thing, you need to keep the same core values but stay current.

Your business is celebrating 40 years of success in 2019. What are you doing to celebrate?

We are planning a big party along with some surprises, to thank the people who have helped us remain successful and the clients who have continually supported us over the years. We wouldn’t be where we are if it wasn’t for them.

What are some of the most unusual events you’ve had the pleasure of catering for? What are some of the most personally meaningful events you’ve worked on? Why? What makes for a successful event?

There is one year we did the skins game and went with two giant 18-wheeler trucks and set up in the forest Predator Ridge in Okanogan, then did the Abbotsford Airshow, and then catered The Molson Indy Vancouver with 30,000 meals over the weekend. That was a lot of work.

Most meaningful to me are life cycle events – a baby naming, a bar mitzva, wedding, or funeral. These are the events that are the most meaningful for our clients and we try to make that a lasting memory for them and their family.

For an event to be successful event I need a happy client, happy staff, and happy suppliers. Then, at the end of the day I can sleep well. It’s all about the joy we can bring to everything we do.

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Keeping my staff for a long time. Keeping people who I trust, adore, and people who have worked with me for over 10, 15, and 20 plus years. Today people leave places they work every two to three years, and I am proud of keeping my staff. I am proud of being able to be a mom and keep my business going even when it was tough trying to balance all of that during good and bad times. It makes me feel good that my kids are proud of me.

What important lessons have you learned in mentoring your staff?

It’s all about trust and allowing people to make mistakes. Giving people permission to make mistakes and trusting them to learn. I’ll cover for you today and I hope you’ll cover for me too, as it’s about how we recover and work together. If you can’t own your mistakes, you’ll make them again and again. You need to be honest in that we can work together to find solutions.

Can you tell me about the importance the Nanaimo Bar holds for you and why you think it’s so important to Canadian (BC) foodie culture?

The Nanaimo Bar was not created by me but became a part of culture because we started selling it in 1979 and took it across the country. It’s delicious, easy to make, no baking required, and took off in a way that has a life of its own. Deborah (my former business partner) and I tried to copyright it, and we couldn’t because it was the name of a town. It’s a wonderful product, and people love it! We add different flavours like, raspberry for spring, and mocha (which is my favourite). The Nanaimo Bar opens itself up to creativity and opportunity. It’s great to have a Canadian food; how many Canadian foods are there? I think it always will be a part of Canadian food culture and I’m proud to have helped spread the awareness about it. We have just come up with a Nanaimo Bar chocolate bar – it’s dark chocolate with the filling of the Nanaimo Bar, and has wafer and coconut.

How has Instagram and foodie culture changed the catering industry?

First, it’s been fantastic for us and we have full-time people who work on moving our social media and sharing our work. People can see the breadth of what we do, which invites more people to contact us. Twice a year we introduce our menus with a huge media event, and all the social media is out there and they help us spread our culture of food. It’s fun and great for business. In the old days we’d buy ads in yellow pages and magazines, and now we have this personal control over our image and brand. At the click of a finger we can see what our competition is doing and share what we are. We designed these containers that look like cigar boxes for staff to pass along the appetizers in. They’re neat, photo friendly and people loving. Today you are trying to do something edgy and fun and different and then switch it up. The catering business is now about décor, and food, and it’s about the whole brand and experience for the client.

What are your favourite comfort foods?

My major food is chocolate. I adore good chocolate and we have so many amazing chocolatiers in Vancouver. Thomas Haas, tempers chocolate for 4 days. I also love ice cream, all the sweets, and Pad Thai.

Who inspires you?

David Leibowitz. I follow his blog and I have most of his cookbooks. I love his connection to people and approach. An early inspiration was Craig Claiborne of The New York Times. In terms of Vancouver, Umberto Menghi’s restaurant Giardino makes everyone who comes through the door feel special and so important in the way they show appreciation.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

That I’m a pescatarian and have been since 1975. In the beginning my business didn’t offer any meat beyond seafood and fish. As the business grew, we brought in chefs who were able to create menus using chicken and meat to help us expand our offerings.

The Lazy Gourmet paired with Silver BURTNICK & Associates for a Global Networking Event 2019 at Sotheby’s International Realty. You will be able to taste their famous Nanaimo Bars with  the whole team this May 13-15!

For nearly 25 years Canadian jewellery designer John De Jong has inspired audiences all over the world with his unique brand of signature couture, studio collections, and bespoke designs. JdJ is a unique jewellery brand known for its quality craftmanship, simplicity, and vividly coloured stones.

John’s life-long passion for jewels and simple elegance is evident in his work, which has been worn by many notable Canadians including Madame Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, who wore a pair of bespoke JdJ earrings to the 2016 White House State Dinner.

By carefully cultivating his designs and brand over the years John’s designs are admired by long-time clients and Instagram followers alike.

What inspired you to enter the world of jewellery design?

From a young age I was always interested in painting, drawing, and applied arts. You could also say it’s been in my family: my maternal grandfather was with Birks for over 30 years, and my uncle (and god father) also worked with Birks and then moved on to work with Tiffany & Co. Canada.

Growing up my mother had beautiful jewellery, and then everything came together when I was 13 and we moved from Canada to Switzerland. There are so many global jewellery makers there, and it’s a jewellery centre so it encouraged my interest.

Can you tell me about the education and training you completed to prepare for this work?

I went to high school in Switzerland and went to college in Boston where I studied Art History. Throughout my Art History course I was always drawing and sketching jewellery and my first designs were done before I entered college. After Boston College I started working with Tiffany and Co. in sales in Toronto as part of the original team to open the first store in Canada. Then I did my Gem and Diamond Degree at GIA (https://www.gia.edu/) in California and solidified the technical side.

I took an amazing program at Sotheby’s which was all about understanding jewellery. Next, I worked on jewel making in Italy for a summer to help me get my feet wet and make sure I had a solid understanding of how things were made and how different materials were combined, and then I started my own business.

What are some of the most important lessons in branding that you’ve learned over the course of your 20 plus years with JdJ?

In terms of branding, defining what you’re trying to do is important for the feel of your work. You want to make sure someone can easily identify your product out of a bunch of others. If you can do that and stay on message to grow from there, this is important. Looking at my pieces from 1995 to now there is a definite thread from now to way back then. It’s not to suggest you should stick with the same look for your entire career but have consistency in the way you present your product. My approach has always been simple, slightly graphic, and pared down. I think the simplicity of our brand is one of the most effective things.

What advice would you give to an entrepreneur looking to carve out their own brand?

A strong marketing message in the beginning is very important, but it goes beyond just that. One of my favourite colleagues says: 

Go to the top floor (literally go upstairs) and look down on everything that is happening so you have a good view of what is going on within your business.

Taking this step outside of your own business is hard to do when you’re so close to it. When you’re independent it can be easy to be in your bubble. Expand your scope but be open to advice from others who have been in the business. If you are lucky enough, find a mentor to guide you through some pivotal decision making. When you are an entrepreneur and independent it can be difficult to make impartial decisions because you’re so close. When your name is on the label, keeping some perspective is very important in trying to think of it as an outsider.

How is Canadian jewellery design different than other places in the world?

It’s changed since I started. The Internet, Instagram, and online shopping has changed everything. As someone starting a business in Canada with a European background it’s very conservative here but over time tastes have evolved and shifted. It’s a healthy market here, but it’s a small market compared to other places in the world. It’s different since I began in the sense that their awareness and education has increased. People today are a little bit more adventurous and interested in something a little different. People are looking for statement pieces more than they were when I first started.

How do you help clients find the perfect piece (or create a bespoke item) to complete a look?

We have our JdJ Studio and Couture collections, and custom design which is a significant part of the business. People will come in and say, “I saw this on someone at a party” or they have a brooch that belonged to a relative they want reimagined into something that they want to wear every day. We start with our collections, people come to us because they’ve decided they like my work, and they reference a few pieces they like. Most people often come with a defined design in mind. Before I work on a custom piece, I ask the customer when they want to wear it, what it means to them, and try to get a sense of their style. All those things come together in my designs and we try to tell a new story…

What are some of the most personally meaningful pieces you’ve ever created?

We’ve made so many things for engagements, weddings, babies and anniversaries. We recently made a spectacular necklace, for a gentleman to give his wife for their her first baby and that weekend she wore it to Buckingham Palace for dinner . We’re frequently creating pieces for milestones, often with birthstones involved. It’s hard to choose just one as we’ve made so many memorable pieces. We had a lovely client in Toronto who was quite well known, who found out she was sick with cancer and wanted to gift her friends and relatives each something special. We made these goodbye gifts for her and all the people in her life. We made cufflinks and brooches, not all the items she gifted were custom, but it was a very special gesture from her and amazing to work so closely together. I am so flattered she chose us.

How do you stay on top of emerging trends in the industry? What are some of your favourite new trends?

I go to the Baselworld fair every year in Switzerland and that’s a great way to see what’s new, since it’s when all the brands are launching what’s new and you’re the first one. Unlike fashion, with jewellery it’s not seasonal trends, they move in years and not months. Diamonds look good all year round! There are so many visual options now that people can see what’s out there. It’s not that everyone is wearing emeralds, it’s more like there are five or six trends at one time. In modern jewellery people showcase capsule collections five to six times a year. They used to do it once annually and now it’s more constant. For example, we take the pulse of what people like through our Instagram posts. Our website is now being transformed to a mobile site, and we’re creating a platform for online sales.

Who are some of your favourite style icons? Why?

Some of our clients (not that I can name them) – but classic Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly come to mind. Nowadays I don’t think there are as many, sure there are fashionable people but it’s a little bit tricky with modern day fashionista types with looks that trend more towards promotion than style. Celebrities like Julianne Moore and Cate Blanchett, when I see them in the press, I feel they have a chic and unique sense of personal style. I’d also add our own Madame Sophie Trudeau and her close friend Jessica Mulroney to that list… and of course Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton who I think look better and better all the time. I like their timeless looks.

What are some of the most common mistake people make in accessorizing their jewellery for formal events?

The daytime watch should not be seen at night. Unless you’re rocking a blinged out Bedat & Co watch, that’s a big no-no. I’d recommend for women when they go out in the evening to choose their key piece. If they’re wearing big jewels it should be layered properly. If you’re wearing big drop earrings with a big necklace, it creates a dated look. If you are going to wear a big cocktail ring, if you’re going to max it out that is a great look – Cate Blanchett did it for the Oscars and it looked amazing, but that’s because the scale was right – something a lot of people struggle with perfecting. Another example is if you’re wearing a big cocktail ring don’t clutter it up with bracelets because you are doing yourself a disservice, because you’re taking away the focus on the ring.

You’ve helped accessorize some very notable/famous people, what is it like sourcing pieces for celebrity? What are some of your favourite pieces that you’ve created for celebrities?

It’s always satisfying to work on celebrity pieces because often your work goes elsewhere in the world and you don’t see it anymore, so you don’t see the jewels being worn. But when it’s for someone in the spotlight you get to see what you’ve created along with everyone else.

The earrings we did for Martha Stewart were cool, and even included Canadian content with the Canada Goose, as they were gifted to her from a Canadian friend in media.

When Jessica Mulroney asked if I’d be interested in creating something for Sophie Trudeau to wear to the White House state dinner it was a wonderful opportunity. I got to see the colours of the dress before, and we custom made a statement of Canadian design that was seen everywhere along with the press of the Obamas and Trudeaus together. My phone rang off the hook from the press and when friends and colleagues saw the earrings in the media they sent terrific messages from all over the world– it was fun!

What is something most people don’t know about you?

Probably that if I wasn’t a jewellery designer I’d be an architect or working in landscape design. Another thing that people who don’t know me socially probably don’t know is that I love the outdoors and am an avid skier. Each year I love spending time up north in Muskoka and in Switzerland. Where I ski a lot and also Hike – it’s a special place.

What are some of the most notable driving factors behind your designs? How has this evolved over the years?

We’ve continued to keep the simplicity there but my use of colour has become bolder in terms of colour mix. I would say In the beginning my work was more conservative, but over time it has become more adventurous. We’ve also been able to start using more interesting stones, as today my resources for stones is larger with nearly 25 years in the business. I often have things custom cut now, and on a technical level we’ve raised the bar on what we’re doing. The gem cutting that we do has elevated the designs in a way.

What current projects are you most excited about? Which past ones are you most proud of, why?

A few years ago, the director at Christie’s Jewels in Geneva wanted to inspire their collectors to start collecting pieces from contemporary jewellers and to add them into a fall auction. There were eight designers selected to participate, and as one of them it was wonderful to be included in this initiative and It was great to see my earrings sell for the high bid.

More recently, I just came back from Nashville and we’ve been nominated for the Swan Ball Jeweller of the year. The event supports Cheekwood Estates and Gardens in Nashville. The jeweller signs a contract to hold three to four events in a week and it culminates at a ball in the mansion showcasing the designs. The smaller events are trunk shows in homes connected to the event and then on the Saturday night we do our final presentation. This is an honour as the Swan Ball has never had a Jeweller from Canada before, and we get to be the first.
 

If you think living in the suburbs is cheaper than living downtown, think again.

The latest data released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) shows that, in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the added costs of commuting usually offset the savings achieved from buying a house in the suburbs surrounding Canada’s biggest city.

Homeowners attracted by cheaper houses with yards in the suburban regions of Greater Toronto make expensive tradeoffs in terms of the time and expense involved in commuting in and out of the downtown core, according to CMHC.

“It’s important that people are looking at the cost of commuting when they’re considering the cost of carrying a home,” said Andrew Scott, a Senior Analyst with CMHC, in a written news release.

Commuting costs impact on household budgets

In its report, entitled “GTA Location and Commuting Choices: The Effect of Commutes on Lower Priced Suburban Housing,” CMHC estimates that suburbanites spend $500 to $800 a month commuting to and from work – a substantial amount that adds to the overall cost of living outside Toronto. Commuting costs range from an average of about $200 a month in the City of Toronto, to more than $800 a month in outlying suburban communities such as Halton Hills, Georgina and Clarington. In the suburbs closest to Toronto, such as Mississauga, Richmond Hill and Pickering, the costs of commuting can be as high as $400 a month.

CMHC said it arrived at its conclusions by analyzing 2016 census data collected by Statistics Canada – looking specifically at housing and commuting costs. CMHC said that its conclusions only involve one person per household commuting daily into Toronto. If two people commute to different locations each day, the monthly costs can exceed $1,000. And the CMHC analysis does not include the cost of parking in Toronto, which can be more than $30 per vehicle a day.

Suburban house prices continue to rise

Add the costs of commuting and a mortgage together, and it’s easy to see that living in the suburbs is not much more affordable than living downtown. Furthermore, housing prices continue to rise in communities outside Toronto such as Oshawa and Pickering as a growing number of people leave the big city for what they think is a better deal in the suburbs. In communities such as Oakville and Markham, larger houses also mean the average house price can be comparable, or even higher, than in downtown Toronto, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). And that’s without factoring in the commuting costs.

In fact, according to TREB data for 2018, the average price of a home in the City of Toronto was only $20,000 more than the average price of a home in the surrounding Greater Toronto Area — $762,627 in Toronto vs. $742,237 in the GTA. Online calculators at several banks show the monthly difference in mortgage payments between these amounts to be $100. But add in commuting costs of about $10,000 a year, plus parking, and the financial benefits of living in suburbia quickly evaporate.

A similar study by the Royal Bank of Canada and the Pembina Institute came to the same conclusions about Toronto and commuting. The study, which compared three-bedroom homes in different parts of the GTA found that “car ownership has a significant impact on monthly costs – for each vehicle removed from a household budget, approximately $200,000 more can be carried on a 25-year mortgage.” The study found that for a working couple with jobs in downtown Toronto, it is more affordable to live downtown and walk or bike to work than it is to live in a car-dependent suburban community.

To be fair, the Toronto house prices include condominiums, which tend to be smaller and don’t come with a yard. People who buy a home in the suburbs tend to get more house and a larger footprint that includes a yard than people who live in Toronto proper. When you compare detached and semi-detached houses, people in Toronto tend to pay, on average, $250,000 more than people in suburban communities. Townhouses in downtown Toronto cost, on average, $125,000 more than an equivalent sized property outside the city.

Commuters sacrifice time as well as money

But experts say that dollars and cents shouldn’t be the only measure used to evaluate the impact of commuting from the suburbs into Toronto for work. People considering a move outside the city should also factor in the time commitment – or time loss – involved in a daily commute. The same CMHC study found that people living in the GTA are spending more time each day commuting to work than ever before.

Currently, about 67% of commuters who live in Greater Toronto come into the city by car each day, with the average trip taking 45 minutes one way, or an hour and a half to work and home again. However, for the third of commuters who rely on public transit to get into Toronto, it takes them more than an hour one way – or two hours total – every single day to commute. That can add up to as much as 10 hours a week or 40 hours a month (the equivalent of an additional full week of work) spent commuting to work and back home.

And with people having to move further and further outside Toronto to find cheaper housing, the time spent commuting is only growing, according to CMHC. The number of people who spend an hour or more commuting into Toronto one way rose 16% between 2011 and 2016, data from the housing agency shows.

Do the math before deciding where to live in Greater Toronto

The time spent commuting just might not be worth it. In the suburban community of Burlington, for example, CMHC calculated only a small difference in overall monthly costs when combining mortgage and commuting expenses: $4,216 in Burlington vs. $4,424 in Toronto (a savings of $208) — but with an additional 23 hours a month spent commuting. The bottom line is that you should do the math and factor in the costs of commuting before assuming that living in the Greater Toronto Area is cheaper than living in the city’s downtown core.

What is your experience with commuting in the Greater Toronto Area?

It’s no secret that condos have overtaken Toronto’s cityscape and real estate market. For two decades, the city’s skyline has been dominated by cranes building new condo towers that reflect the growing demand to live within Canada’s most populous city. Historically, most of these towers have been designated for residential use, but that trend is shifting, as many developers are building mixed-use projects that will heavily feature office space that investors and business owners can purchase.

Jim Burtnick is a Certified International Property Specialist and Vice President in charge of sales for Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, and he thinks that city planners are tapping into something really exciting here.

By mandating that condo developers devote a certain portion of their primarily residential condo tower project for office condos (usually this occurs as part of the negotiations related to zoning variances, additional height, etc), what the City is doing is ensuring that these areas where the developments are occurring are not simply “residential zones” that are hollowed out during the work days. Now with office condos and retail aspects too, you get an area that has a 24-hour life cycle.

Welcome to the rise of Toronto’s office condos.

Theory Condos Pivotal for Toronto’s Future

Parallax Development Corporation will be on the forefront of this growing trend with their Theory Condos on College project, which will be built on the southeast corner of College St. and St.George St. Located in Toronto’s exciting Discovery District, Theory Condos will be set amongst amazing public transit and local amenities that will have workers fall in love with their office space.

Theory Condos are only a 5-minute walk away from Queen’s Park subway station, making them accessible from across the entire GTA. This makes it easy for anyone to reach work on time, which is an important factor when attracting the city’s most qualified and sought after employees. If that weren’t enough, workers will also have direct access to the 506 streetcar that travels along College, Carlton, and Gerrard.

These offices also boast a wealth of local amenities that surround the area. In addition to its cafes, bars, and restaurants, Theory Condos are also handy to some of the most recognizable cultural institutions in the city. The Art Gallery of Ontario, Ed Mirvish Theatre, Royal Ontario Museum, and Yonge-Dundas Square are all less than a 20-minute walk away, perfect for after-work plans.

Theory Condos will be a mixed-use development, also featuring residential and commercial retail units. Its 29 storey tower will rise out of a 4 storey podium, and it will feature an impressive list of amenities that include a Fitness Centre equipped with free weights and cardio equipment. Are yoga and pilates more your thing? Then you’ll love the Yoga Studio that faces out toward Toronto’s west end. It will also house an innovative study area with high-speed Wi-Fi. The ground level will have a Starbucks, which is the lifeblood for many young professionals.

The office space prices start at $775 per sq.ft. according to Toronto’s MLS Listing.

Office Condos Are Finally Coming To The Downtown Core

Burtnick is particularly excited about Theory Condos because of its location.

Imagine that you are a tech startup looking for talent. Here you are right next to U of T with all of its constant supply of new, fresh and ambitious talent literally at your doorstep! It doesn’t get better for a recruitment pool and the younger generation do not want to commute between home and work any longer as their parents did. This is the new way of living.

In fact, tech-industry is one of the most significant proponents of building more office condominium developments. A recent report from the CBRE Group shows that Toronto’s growing tech-sector accounts for 20 per cent of pre-leased space in the city. The same report also shows the demand for office condos by revealing a rock bottom 2.7 per cent vacancy rate for the city’s office space.

It’s not just tech companies who see the boon of owning office condos. Prominent real estate developers and investors are putting their weight behind this trend by purchasing office condos. Notable examples are Tricon Capital, who purchased 15,329 square feet of space at 7 St. Thomas Street for $13,315,900, which breaks down to $869 per square foot. The Daniels Corporation also bought 24,686 square feet at 130 Queens Quay for $13,858,737, which breaks down to only $561 per square foot.

The Benefits of Owning an Office Condo

In many ways, the advantages of owning office space mirror the advantages of owning a home. According to Burtnick,

These small businesses are waking up to the fact that they can actually build equity during the lifespan of their business and have an additional asset (besides the business itself) to sell when they depart from the business. That is, instead of paying rent to a major landlord like Brookfield for the next 20, 30, or 40 years, they can build equity by purchasing an office condo plus control their occupancy cost instead of being at the whim of landlord’s and the marketplace when they go to renew their lease. It is a no-brainer!

Essentially, small businesses will be able to count the tangible real estate asset of owning the office condo in addition to their intellectual property and profit earning mechanisms. Another attractive benefit to owning your office condo is that it gives you direct control over your space. When business owners rent their office space, there are plenty of hurdles to overcome. One example is renewing the lease because the business owner is at the whim of the landlord and market values, and they could be forced to pay much more in rent, or even relocate if they can’t afford the increased expense. But if they own the space, the growing market value of the office will increase the business’ value.

Owning an office condo also puts the business owner in control of the layout and aesthetic of the space. Landlords can put rules and limitations on the space, making it difficult to optimize your business and profitability. It can make it difficult to create a design that truly reflects the identity of your brand, which is integral to impressing clients.

It’s not that office tenants aren’t interested in buying their own office space. Senior Vice President at Lennard Commercial Realty Dean Macaskill explains that many people begin their office search by looking for property to buy, but they often end up leasing because locations are too poor, and supply is almost non-existent. There’s also the matter of cost. Freehold office space typically exceeds $1,000 per square foot, whereas office condos cost much less than that. One must also consider the cost of renovations due to the buildings usually being 30 years or older.

This is why Theory Condos and the influx of other mixed-use buildings that feature office condos are so integral to the city’s future.

Investing In Office Condos

Office condominiums are also a great opportunity for real estate investors who want to diversify their portfolio. With long term leases, more dependable payments, and newer markets, investors could significantly improve their holdings by getting involved with office condos. Theory Condos are in good hands because they’re being built by Parallax Development Corporation, who have been building and developing properties in the region since 1981.

They started their operation by focusing on developing retail shopping plazas but expanded their domain to constructing a wide variety of different projects, including front retail, and mid-rise and high-rise residential and mixed-use properties. Through all of this, creating value has been at the core of what they do, so investors and business owners can trust that their investment will see meaningful equitable growth in the future.

Theory Condos on College are just the beginning of what will surely become a persistent trend in Toronto’s real estate market. Burtnick hopes,

the City will continue to encourage office-condos being a portion of new residential towers. We are losing employment land all over this city, and here is a way to provide more, especially for the fastest growing segment of the business economy — self-employed and small businesses.

Like he said before, office condos being the future of Toronto real estate is a no-brainer!

A recent survey by Point2Homes found that while 66 per cent of millennials had an interest in buying a home, half had savings significantly below the national average down payment ($25,000) and 12 per cent didn’t have anything aside. What’s more, 70 per cent of millennials believed that for a down payment they would need less than $50,000 when, in reality, the average down payment is a little over $62,000 in Toronto.

How much do you actually need?

Saving for a down payment is no easy task. For a home that’s $500,000 or less, the down payment must be at least 5 per cent of the purchase price; for a property between $500,000 and $999,999, the down payment must be at least 5 per cent of the first $500,000 ($25,000) plus 10 per cent of the portion of the purchase price over $500,000; and for a property over $1 million, the down payment must be at least 20 per cent of the purchase price.

If you’re self-employed or have a poor credit history, however, a larger down payment may be required. Overall, the bigger the down payment, the better. A bigger down payment decreases the overall debt you have from your mortgage.

Mortgage loan insurance, also known as mortgage default insurance, is something to keep in mind when saving. This insurance protects the mortgage lender in case the borrower is unable to further commit to payments and is mandatory for anyone with less than a 20 per cent down payment. Mortgage loan insurance can be expensive and range between 0.6 per cent and 4.5 per cent of the total mortgage. Where the insurance premium lands depends on the size of your down payment.

While you can get away with a 5 per cent down payment (depending on price), many still opt to save at least 20 per cent to avoid the expensive mortgage default insurance and to reduce the overall debt they’ll have to take on with a new home.

Survey results by Point2Homes

Tips to save for your down payment

If you plan to buy a $400,000 property and want to avoid mortgage default insurance, your downpayment is going to be at least $80,000. Though this seems like an huge number (and it is), it’s not unattainable, especially if you’re planning to buy this home with a significant other. Here are some tips on just how you can save for the down payment.

Taking advantage of financial products — TFSAs, RRSPs, and credit cards

Many financial services can help you save for a down payment, the most obvious being a bank account. Most online banking services allow customers to set up automatic direct deposits into a savings account. So every time a paycheque comes in, your online banking can put away an amount to another account that you’ve committed to not spending. To really boost your savings, commit any pay raises to this savings account and only live off your original salary.

A Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) can be the ideal place to store your savings. With a TFSA, any money contributed or earned through the account is tax-free, even when withdrawn. Contributions to this account are ignored on your income tax, and income generated by the TFSA (though stocks, bonds, or funds) is also tax-free.

Canada also has the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) to help Canadians with their down payments. The HBP allows you to withdraw up to $25,000 from your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) to buy or build a home. This loan has to be repaid within 15 years or else it can result in a massive tax expense. Before using the HBP, you should consider whether you can realistically pay back the amount within 15 years and how taking out this sum will affect your retirement savings goals.

The HBP gave us just the capital we needed to make a 20 per cent down payment on our new condo,

said Sarah Blakes (age 26). She and her fiancé, Arnold Davis (age 27), recently moved into a new condo in the Downtown Core:

Since Arnold and I are far off from retirement, we don’t see borrowing from our RRSP as hurting our future significantly.

One of the most popular banking product is the good ol’ fashion credit card. If you have outstanding credit card debts, it can hinder your ability to borrow more money— i.e., a mortgage. Additionally, when there are numerous credit card interest payments to make every month, it can be hard to save. If this is your situation, the first thing to do is to consolidate your debt. Find the credit card with the lowest interest rate and move your balances from other credit cards to the lowest interest one. Then, pay off the credit card debt as fast as possible to increase your mortgage eligibility and to increase your monthly savings.

25 Scrivener | Toronto Central

Reducing your expenses

Reducing wasteful spending is key to saving, and the first step to this is to create a budget. Every month, examine where most of your money is going to and what can be cut out. Costs like buying lunch can be replaced by meal prepping.

Sarah shares her experience:

Date nights used to always involve dining at nice restaurants downtown. To save for the down payment, Arnold and I opted to buying some nicer ingredients and cooking at home.

There are also other, less common ways to save, as well, such as reducing vacations or selling your car.

Holding back on a trip to Europe or Asia for a year or two won’t kill you and it helps in the long term. Instead, go somewhere cheaper like New York City. You can easily save $500+ just on airfare alone by opting to go south of the border instead of flying overseas. You can even make it a road trip.

One of the biggest expenses you may have is your car. Even if you bought a cheap pre-owned vehicle, simply owning a car costs you expenses in gas, maintenance, insurance, and repairs. If you’re living with your significant other and you both own cars, trying getting rid of at least one car. The sale of the car can provide fresh capital or eliminate expensive monthly car payments that can easily go over $3,000 a year. Depending on the drivers, getting rid of a car insurance can also save $1,000 a year.

Finally, not having to fill the tank or go to a garage can easily result in over $2,500 in annual savings. This amounts to an addition $6,500 of savings per year! Of course, you’ll likely have to supplement this with a TTC pass and a few uber ride, but you’ll likely still come out with extra money in the savings account.

Lastly, the best way to reduce expenses is to not initiate them in the first place. Having a cat or dog can seem fun, but every visit to the veterinarian can cost $300 or possibly more. Then there’s also the amount you’ll have to pay for food, pet toys, and grooming. And renting a place, while saving for a downpayment, can also be an expense you don’t need. This can be renting a place with more space than needed or renting when you could just live with your parents instead.

Getting help from your parents and your in-laws

Help from your parents or in-laws is a popular way to save for a down payment. With real estate prices so high, it’s not uncommon for young, first-time home buyers to ask their parents for either a gift or loan of money. On the flip side, high real estate prices can also mean that parents can more easily borrow against their property to help with their child’s down payment.

Additionally, arranging with your parents to pay a token rent instead of taking on the full cost of Toronto rent prices can help save a lot of money. Even a 200-square foot apartment will cost $1,400 a month. So if you pay a token rent of $500 a month, that means saving $900/month. This was one step Blakes took with her fiancé before buying their condo:

I was fortunate to have parents who let my at-the-time boyfriend and now fiancé and I live with them in Mississauga for a while. Avoiding thousands in monthly rent really helped us save for our condo.

Saving is not easy. Due to the high price of real estate, Torontonians are getting more creative in how they make that downpayment—some even purchasing a property with one or more friends. However, if you can find help from your bank and parents and know where to cut your expenses, you’re already on the right track to becoming a home owner.