Don’t you just hate hearing about what real estate in Toronto cost five years, ten years, or twenty years ago?

Like when your colleague hears about the $1.3M, 2-bed, 2-bath house you’re seeing this weekend, and says, “Gosh, we paid less than that for our 5-bed, 5-bath house on Glencairn Avenue,” as if the concept of time wasn’t a factor and there was no difference between 2002 and 2023?

Well, lucky for you, I’m not going to do that today.

But I am going to tell you that the maintenance fees that I paid for my very first condo were only $299.97 per month, including parking, and water, heat, and hydro.

When did maintenance fees in this city get so expensive?

Well, I suppose it was when real estate prices got expensive too.

There’s no correlation between the increase in prices and the increase in maintenance fees over the last decade, but it’s worth noting that maintenance fees in Toronto have significantly increased over the last couple of years.  So much so, in fact, that we’re no longer doing a double-take when we see fees over $1.00 per square foot.

In today’s Pick5, I’m going to show you five downtown condo units that all have very, very high fees.  That is, on a per-square-foot basis, which is how fees are compared.

And before you suggest, “These must all be older buildings,” I will tell you that they are not.  In fact, one of the buildings with $1.30/sqft fees is effectively brand new.

Hope you enjoy!