Micro-condos address younger buyers’ need for affordability and home-to-work mobility, observers say
Small-space living is becoming an increasingly popular option among Canada’s young buyers, and nowhere is this more obvious than the apparent comeback of downsized condominium units.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. recently stated that construction of single-detached homes fell in 2016, continuing a trend that has started in 2012 and accompanying increased demand that has led to overall higher costs in this housing type.
However, CMHC added that while condo starts might see a small decline in 2017—in large part due to a reduced number of first-time buyers in the wake of stricter mortgage rules—2018 will see a massive rebound in condo construction come 2018 due to intensified demand for more affordable housing.
Baker Real Estate Inc. president and CEO Barbara Lawlor said that small condos are practically tailor-made for the outlook and the preferences of the millennial cohort, a generation that typically spends more time at the workplace rather than at home.
“Today's young people are used to a more minimal existence than their parents and grandparents, and new immigrants are used to compact apartment-style living,” Lawlor said, as quoted by YPNextHome.
David Wex of Urban Capital, which pioneered the “micro-condo” concept in Toronto a few years ago, noted that their offerings are a “direct response” to the fiscal pressures that have priced a significant portion of young Canadians out of the market.
“It's basically about redesigning the elements in our condos to make sure they are highly efficiently designed, in order to make small spaces work as best they can, allowing them to feel and function like larger spaces. The goal is to deliver super-efficient spaces at an affordable price.”
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The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. recently stated that construction of single-detached homes fell in 2016, continuing a trend that has started in 2012 and accompanying increased demand that has led to overall higher costs in this housing type.
However, CMHC added that while condo starts might see a small decline in 2017—in large part due to a reduced number of first-time buyers in the wake of stricter mortgage rules—2018 will see a massive rebound in condo construction come 2018 due to intensified demand for more affordable housing.
Baker Real Estate Inc. president and CEO Barbara Lawlor said that small condos are practically tailor-made for the outlook and the preferences of the millennial cohort, a generation that typically spends more time at the workplace rather than at home.
“Today's young people are used to a more minimal existence than their parents and grandparents, and new immigrants are used to compact apartment-style living,” Lawlor said, as quoted by YPNextHome.
David Wex of Urban Capital, which pioneered the “micro-condo” concept in Toronto a few years ago, noted that their offerings are a “direct response” to the fiscal pressures that have priced a significant portion of young Canadians out of the market.
“It's basically about redesigning the elements in our condos to make sure they are highly efficiently designed, in order to make small spaces work as best they can, allowing them to feel and function like larger spaces. The goal is to deliver super-efficient spaces at an affordable price.”
Related Stories:
Government ‘shafting’ millennials out of Toronto housing market - columnist
Sharp halt in housing starts in October aggravates uncertainty
