We have seen the completion of four so-called “luxury” condominiums in the past few years: Trump Tower, The Four Seasons, Shangri-La, and The Ritz Carlton.

A lot of Torontonians, those both uninformed, and in the know, have grouped these four buildings together as though they were all essentially the same, just because they’re brand-name, and five-star.

In reality, these buildings have completely different values, at least intrinsically, or in the minds of buyers.

Let’s look at all four, both in terms of quantifiable sale prices, and the ever-popular “word on the street.”

Let’s all remember that “luxury” is a state of mind.

Sure, the photo above might show a bunch of expensive cars in front of a few expensive hotels and condos, but the sky is dark!

So maybe fancy cars and expensive real estate might not bring about sunshine and happiness after all?

Who’s to say…

But here in Toronto, we’ve seen a boom in the number of “luxury” condos built over the pat half-decade, and the jury is still out on whether or not they’ve been a success.

I remember meeting a guy at a bar in Mexico (how many stories start like that?) back in 2008 or 2009 (how can a story like this not be hazy?), and he was in real estate based out of Los Angeles.  He knew absolutely everything about real estate in North America, and one of the things he told me was: “Toronto has no five-star hotels or condos.  That’s how you know when a city has arrived.”

Sure enough, the years ahead brought about an onslaught of “luxury” residences, headlined by the biggest name of them all: Trump.

Now that the dust has settled on the four big-name buildings, I want to look at them for what has been listed, what has been sold, and then talk anecdotally about what these buildings stand to offer.

(Note: when I refer to ‘total listings’ below, that accounts for ALL listings, including units listed more than once)

“Residences of The Ritz Carlton” at 183 Wellington Street

Date of Condominium Registration: June 24th, 2011.

Since the first listing appeared on MLS in July of 211, there have been 216 total listings, resulting in 39 sales.

The last three sales:

1) 6/5/2015 – $2,800,000 – 2,525 square feet, or $1,109/sqft
2) 6/1/2015 – $1,150,000 – 1,512 square feet, or $761/sqft
3) 5/20/2015 – $1,875,000 – 2,035 square feet, or $921/sqft

The word on the street here is that this is one building where serious buyers are looking, both foreign and domestic.

As we’ll see at the end, the problems with Trump Towers have been well-documented, and buyers are looking elsewhere.

The “Ritz-Carlton” brand is strong, and the location here is fantastic.  Sure, it’s within a couple of blocks of Trump and Shangri-La, but the Wellington streetscape was actually changed specifically for this project, and it’s not nearly as congested as Bay & Adelaide, or as busy as University Avenue.

The interior finishes of the units here satisfy the eyes of discerning buyers, and the layouts are conducive to living, as evidenced by the 1,500 square foot 1-bedroom units that developers would never dare create in your ‘typical’ condominiums being built for pre-sales.

“Four Seasons Private Residences” at 55 Scollard Street & 50 Yorkville Avenue

Date of Condominium Registration: December 12th, 2012

Since the first listing at 55 Scollard Street appeared on MLS in September of 2011 , there have been 104 total listings, resulting in 17 sales.

The last three sales:

1) 5/12/2015 – $1,815,000 – 1,578 square feet, or $1,150/sqft
2) 5/5/2015 – $1,060,000 – 1,100 square feet, or $964/sqft
3) 4/27/2015 – $1,390,000 – 1,265 square feet, or $1,099/sqft

Since the first listing at 50 Yorkville Avenue appeared on MLS in September of 2011, there have been 98 listings, resulting in 23 sales.

The last three sales:

1) 6/9/2015 – $7,300,000 – 3,914 square feet, or $1,865/sqft
2) 6/4/2015 – $3,950,000 – 2,570 square feet, or $1,537/sqft
3) 5/31/2015 – $2,925,000 – 2,466 square feet, or $1,186/sqft

The word on the street is that the Four Seasons is where all the people from Forest Hill are downsizing to.

It seems to be the “safest” of the four buildings, perhaps because of the brand name, or because of the location.  But units are selling in both towers – even a $7.3M unit just two weeks ago.

To see $1,800 per square foot in Toronto is obviously quite rare, and you might call it an “outlier.”  But there have been other sales over $1,500/sqft, and that’s quite impressive.

It would seem that the domestic buyers, ie. those planning to downsize from Forest Hill, Rosedale, or Lawrence Park, all bought pre-construction at Four Seasons, whereas all the “little guys” got suckered in at Trump Towers, as we’ll discuss shortly…

“Shangri-La” at 180 University Avenue

Date of Condominium Registration: August 20th, 2012

Since the first listing appeared on MLS in April of 2012, there have been 273 total listings, resulting in 37 sales.

The last three sales:

1) 5/22/2015 – $1,140,000 – 1,424 square feet, or $801/sqft
2) 4/27/2015 – $1,430,000 – 1,750 square feet, or $817/sqft
3) 4/25/2015 – $907,500 – 1,100 square feet, or $825/sqft

The word on the street is that this feels more like a hotel than a condo, and more like a tourist destination than a place for residents to come home to every night after a long day of work.

There are a lot of events held here, and a lot of high school graduation pre-drinks in hotel rooms upstairs.

It’s a completely different feel than something like “Four Seasons,” if you’re looking for a place to live in full-time.

I’ve also talked to multiple Realtors who laugh at the finishes in some of these suites, saying you get cleaner work from Tridel, and better quality from Cityzen.

“Trump International Hotel & Tower” at 311 & 325 Bay Street

Date of Condominium Registration: October, 22nd, 2012

Since the first listing at 311 Bay Street appeared on MLS in November of 2012 , there have been 28 total listings, resulting in ZERO sales.

Since the first listing at 325 Bay Street appeared on MLS in May of 2006, there have been 31 total listings, resulting in 1 sale.

And that sale was the first unit ever listed on MLS.

The last three sales?

Too funny…

Oh, Trump!

But you’re going to be PRESIDENT, right?

Folks, in case you think I’m making this up – trust me when I say that a resale unit at Trump Tower has N-E-V-E-R sold on MLS.

I was offered a listing here for $4,000,000, full commission, 6-months, no catch.

I told the person (ie. not the owner, as a lot of these units are in foreclosure or being bartered…) that I couldn’t take the listing in good faith because I knew I had a zero percent chance of selling it.  I’d have been lying if I told him it was worth even floating on MLS.

I wrote about the troubles at Trump Tower back in January of 2014, and I went back and provided links to all the Toronto Star articles on the subject by columnist Sue Pigg.  Hold on, lemme get those links back up…..

….here:

1) December 16th, 2011: “Investors Fight To Back Out of Trump”

2) December 30th, 2011: “Angry Trump Condo Buyer Wants Out”

3) November 19th, 2012: “Trump Tower Developer Suing 7 Disgruntled Investors”

4) November 26th, 2012: “Trump Hotel Condo Buyers Seeking OSC Probe”

5) August 10th, 2013: “Toronto Trump Tower Investor Revolt Bigger Than Thought”

In the article I wrote in January of 2014, somebody commented that I neglected to differentiate between the “hotel-condos” and the “condos.”

Well honestly, who gives a hoot.

ONE unit has sold there.  ONE.

Hotel-condo, or condo, who cares.

Nothing is moving in that building, and it would seem that no lender will touch it.

I know somebody in private lending – the guys that charge 8.75% for first mortgages, and he said he was asked for a 20% LTV for Trump, and he declined.  He said, “How do I really know what that thing is worth?  I could lend ‘only’ $400,000 to somebody putting in $1,600,000 of his own money, only to find out that the damn thing is worth a million-bucks.”

Tough times at Trump!

In any event, my two cents, for what it’s worth, is that the Four Seasons seems to have been a smashing success, and the Ritz-Carlton has done okay.

Shangri-La was a flop.

And Trump Towers is simply the biggest failure in Toronto real estate history.

So where do we go from here?

MORE LUXURY CONDOS!

No, seriously.  They’re coming.  Just watch….

Have a great weekend, everybody!