Toronto Condos Are CHEAP! (Compared To Monaco Penthouses…)

Condos

2 minute read

June 19, 2013

I’ve watched this story over the past few months but didn’t want to post about it, as the reported prices are all over the map!

But really – what’s the difference between $250 Million and $387 Million?

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“I paid $71,000 for my first house,” a caller told me on the phone last week, after balking at my suggestion that the average price of a “decent” 1-bed, 1-bath condo with parking in the downtown core is around $350,000 – $375,000.

“Six hundred dollars per square foot?” he said, in amazement.

“You’re telling me that a twelve by ten bedroom in a condo costs the same today as my entire 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom house did?”

This is where the phrase, “Don’t shoot the messenger” is most appropriately used.

Toronto condos are expensive, no doubt about it.  But I don’t set the prices; the market does.

They’re expensive, compared to some places, but cheaper, however, compared to others.

Some of us have grown tired of the comparisons to pricing in New York, London, Tokyo, and the like.

But what about comparing prices to that of the most extravagant, most oppulent, and most utterly insane properties in the world?

Enter: Odeon Tower.

Monaco is the second smallest country on planet earth, and yet it will soon be home to the most expensive condo in this galaxy.

As I said at the onset, a quick perusal of the Internet shows that price estimates are ranging anywhere from $250 Million to $387 Million, but as the highest recorded price ever paid for a condo is $212 Million (in England), the penthouse at Odeon Tower is expected to eclips that, and then some.

The unit is five storeys, and a whopping 36,000 square feet.

It features, among other things, a rooftop pool with a 2-storey waterslide, located 49-storeys above ground.

My interest here is not in naming off all the features of the condo.  I’m sure it has toilets made of pure gold, and a floor made from the bones of small, poor children…

But rather I’m interested in the idea of who would buy this condo, and more importantly to whom they would sell the property down the road.

Is this not just a physical extension of somebody’s ego?

This condo could cost as much as $11,000 per square foot, and at $387,000,000, it would take a multi, multi-billionaire to purchase it.

So why would somebody purchase this?

Well, to say they did!  So they can be “that guy” who bought the most ridiculous and insane property on the planet.

And for absolutely, positively, no other reason.

The person buying this property has to acknowledge that he or she could eat $200 Million down the line.

Is there any reason to believe that after paying $387,000,000, this property is going to sell for MORE?  What if the world economy tanks?  What if the owner has to cut bait and sell at a “bottom barrel” price of $187,000,000 down the line?

I’m convinced that the buyer of this condo cannot be so successful, as to be able to afford it, but so naive, as to assume that it represents anything resembling an “investment.”

Thoughts?  Agree or Disagree?

Isn’t this just a vanity project?

For those of you that want photos, there are plenty.  Directly from the Tour Odeon website, where you can see more if need be:

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Wow, how oppulent!

If you’re not sick about this already, and you actually want more, then here’s a video from the developer:

 

Written By David Fleming

David Fleming is the author of Toronto Realty Blog, founded in 2007. He combined his passion for writing and real estate to create a space for honest information and two-way communication in a complex and dynamic market. David is a licensed Broker and the Broker of Record for Bosley – Toronto Realty Group

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10 Comments

  1. Jesse

    at 8:52 am

    Of course! You’re 28 and super rich! Those are the buyers on the balcony.

    My thought on these super expensive pre designed condos is: why would someone with this kind of money not do something a little more creative? Bespoke? Custom? Build their own tower – all for themselves! (Nevermind the ‘feed 2 billion starving children….’) At this scale of affordability they could literally pull a Frank Gehry – sketch out a swizzle on a napkin and instruct their entourage to pull something clever together. Obviously I’m not this rich and hence more a dreamer than some.

  2. Geoff

    at 9:15 am

    That pool is ridiculously awesome.

    The Bill gates of this world don’t really worry about the return on their investment. They worry about dropping dead at 57 with billions of dollars unspent. Or at least they #$#@$#ing should!

    1. FRBYWA

      at 1:07 pm

      Two of the richest people in the world – Bill Gates and Warren Buffett (combined net worth of $100 billion) are giving away vitually all of their net worth. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation (which combines Gates and Buffett’s wealth) is giving away a large part of the foundation money to the poorest people in the world.

      I guess these two individuals rather have their money go to saving and improving the lives of the poorest people in the world vs. spending it on some ultra-luxurious good.

        1. FRBYWA

          at 1:20 am

          Sorry….I guess he’s evil then.

          Here are two guys…giving away the bulk of their fortune (99%) to the poorest people in the world. Plus, they’ve convinced 105 billionaires around the world to donate at least half of their net worth to charity (The Giving Pledge). In short, Buffett and Gates are changing the world.

          Any kind of negative comments relating to these guys (and surprisingly you’ll find lots everywhere) is akin to making positive comments on Hitler.

  3. Frosty Johansen

    at 8:33 am

    Ah, my two favourite things: money and laundry.

    I imagine a lot of laundering goes on in Toronto’s condo market, too.

  4. Richard

    at 5:39 am

    I have to assume it’s pretty much an outright luxury purchase. No one buys this with the hope of selling it down the line and making a profit. If they happen to do so, it is probably a happy coincidence.

    While the pool of prospective buyers isn’t all that large, it’s probably bigger than we think – a cursory glance of the Forbes billionaire list indicates you need to get down to #100 or so before you fall below the $10B threshold.

  5. kok

    at 9:43 am

    Not the same very very very very………. 1000 times……………..very far apart.

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  7. Condos for sale in Halifax

    at 11:57 pm

    Awesome blog! Yes I agree with you Toronto condos are cheap as compared to Monaco penthouses, but I prefer to Monaco penthouses, Thanks for sharing and if you want to buy luxury condos just see this condos for sale in Halifax.

  8. Toronto Condo Team

    at 7:19 am

    Thanks for sharing with us, Keep posting and share with us. For more details about our services please visit at https://torontocondoteam.ca

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