I’ve never put that much stake into the view from a condominium window, but then again, I do live on the second floor.

Some live for the view, and some don’t care at all.

But how does this affect resale value?

I’ll never forget my second date with this girl last year when I took her back to my condo because I was so excited to show her my large outdoor terrace (for those cynics, I vehemently deny having any ulterior motive).

Like an artist pulling the tarp off his latest creation, I whipped open the curtains and slid open the patio door only to have her step outside and sarcastically say, “Wow……that’s a great view of that other building.”

She couldn’t see the forest through the trees, and suffice it to say that this was reason #37 why she and I didn’t work out…

But she’s not the only person to comment that my condo “lacks a view” even though I have a monstrous 440 square foot patio.  One Realtor in my company who I admittedly dislike once remarked “Lotta good that patio’s gonna do ya in the winter!  I’d rather have a city view any day.”  Well, perhaps neither of us are right or wrong, but at least my mother doesn’t cut my hair…

Having a great view is surely an asset to any condominium, but how to you quantify such a feature?

I sold a unit at Space Condos on Richmond Street a couple weeks ago, and the view there was spectacular, so said just about everybody that walked through the door.  Before Rezen was built immediately south, Lake Ontario could be seen from the 14th floor balcony in this unit.  Even with Rezen, the view is still great, but now Vu Condo is being built immediately east!

Interestingly enough, the owners of this condo on Richmond actually purchased a unit at Rezen and moved there, since they valued their south view of the water so much.

Personally, I couldn’t care less about a view, but here we had owners who put so much stake into the view that they actually purchased a unit in another condo just because of the view!

But here’s the rub: how long until their new view is obstructed by another new condominium?

This is the reason why I put so little stake into a view.  On a long enough time horizon, just about every view in the city will be obstructed.  Built a condo on “Spot-X” at fifteen stories, and then two years later, the condo built next door on “Spot-Y” will be twenty stories.  Every successive condo is slightly taller than the previous one next door, so we essentially have a domino-effect with respect to the views being obstructed one after the next.

But this brings me back to the question of value.  How do you value a view?

Yesterday, did an evaluation for a lady in my building at 230 King Street East who lived on the second floor, facing south over King Street.  Now she obviously didn’t have much of a view to begin with since she’s only fourteen feet off the ground, but there are plans to construct a 28-storey building on the southeast corner of King & Sherbourne directly in front of our condo, and she asked me how this will affect the value of her condo.

Obviously, the value of her condo won’t be as affected as much as the owners of the same unit fifteen stories up, but she is still at a loss due to the construction.

Many people accept that their view will be compromised at some point, but they forget that buildings don’t just magically appear overnight.  They take 2-3 years to construct, which means 2-3 years of all the drawbacks that come with it.  Noise is clearly the largest drawback, but the roads are often blocked due to trucks coming and going, and you are forced to stare at an ugly hole in the ground for the first six months.

So the lady in my building asked me when she should sell her condo, and I essentially gave her two options:
1) Right away
2) When the building is complete

You’re probably asking yourselves, “Surely there is some middle ground, no?”  Well obviously there is, but if you have the ability to work with these two options, it would be in your best interest.

Selling right away would mean the buyers, while perhaps aware of the potential for construction and an obstructed view, wouldn’t be able to visualize this as well had there been a hole in the ground or semi-finished building across the street.  Once the site is demolished and the hole is dug, the caveats associated with buying the property are as clear to the buyers as the hole itself.

Waiting until the new condominium is complete will mean that potential buyers will never have even known what life was like before this condo was here.  Sure, they may consider that once-upon-a-time there was no obstruction, but I also consider that once-upon-a-time this earth was roamed by dinosaurs…

When the building is completed, the obstructed view becomes a complete non-issue, however you obviously lose the former view as a saleable feature of your condo.

The bottom line is this: how much time do you actually spend staring out your window and taking in “the view”?

If you sit outside on your balcony every single night looking at the buildings of downtown Toronto, then I accept that your view has a value.

But if the view is just something that you want to have “because,”‘ and for no other reason, then what is the point?

I’d much rather live on the second or third storey of a building adjacent to a park so I can see the trees and grass below than live on the 32nd floor of building just so I can look out the window and see……other buildings.

Doesn’t that make sense?