As the spring rolls around into summer, the true beauty of the Beach is on full display. Our glorious oak trees have unravelled to reveal their towering majesty, and our urban forest and sea of greenery that we live beneath, within, and surrounded by here in our wonderful neighbourhood, has once again surpassed expectations. The Beach is truly blessed by nature’s presence in all seasons, but the arrival of spring and summer and the awakening of the Beach forest is always remarkable and inspiring.
And as seasons turn, with spring giving way to summer, so does the spring real estate market of 2012 fade into memory. It has been memorable too. Despite economic uncertainty and foreboding news, the Beach real estate market has consistently proven to be more than resilient. New highs in sale prices and a continuing march toward ever increasing prices has become commonplace in The Beach.
Really, who bats an eye anymore when they witness or hear about huge sale prices? It wasn’t that long ago if you remember that it made national news when a Beach home on Munro Park Avenue sold for hundreds of thousands over list. Today, maybe a mention in the local coffee shops over latte at best. These record home sale prices here in our little part of the country really don’t seem to jar anyone anymore. It’s routine. Trite. Hackneyed to a point. Think of it this way…in the last decade, and moreover the last three years, Beach residents have become used to, and almost oblivious to million-dollar sales in the neighbourhood. I’m not saying that every home that comes to market is a million bucks, but it seems that every day we see a new $1 million listing hit the market, and we barely give it a second thought.
In fact, the $2 million mark is starting to slowly become expected. And the few $3 million sales that we’ve witnessed before may not get the expected rush of blood now either. So I was happy to see that when I recently brought an $8 million property to market (sorry to disappoint, but no public open houses) that this price managed to raise Beachers eyebrows, and got tongues flapping and wagging! We hadn’t quite become Rosedalians or Bridle Pathfinders yet. Whew…I was beginning to think that maybe rugby or lacrosse had managed to replace real estate as the official pastime of the Beach.
(On a side note here – the owner of the $8 million listing on the lakefront did spend over $4 million in making this house the best the Beach has to offer. It truly is amazing! Just saying).
Now I’m not complaining about million dollar listings in the Beach. Far be it from me to think that this neighbourhood shouldn’t flash its brilliance at every turn it gets, and since I mine a good share of that million dollar market myself, I don’t mind deep-pocketed buyers. But it is starting to get a little boring, isn’t it? From a professional point of view, telling homeowners that their property is worth a million dollars has lost its zing, its pizzazz and element of surprise. Think of the actor Mike Myers as Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movie, where he puts his little pinky finger to the side of his mouth and quips “one million dollars…” No reaction. Nothing. Been there, done that. Blank stares from homeowners. Get the picture?
Beach real estate is getting boring due to its popularity. There’s a lack of surprise about Beach sale prices now. And I miss the fury the Beach put up against MPAC and their assessments of our properties. Remember the fights over how outsiders decided that the Beach was worth a whole lot more than we wanted to believe, or cared? Town hall meetings just a few years ago were filled with Beach homeowners who were outraged that their properties were taxed based on such unrealistic assessments. But I guess that’s all changed now. We’re there. The Beach, like it or not, has been and still is a very hot commodity in Toronto’s real estate market. There’s no turning back. We’ve witnessed the march of the developers, and now it’s Queen Street’s turn. $1 million condos will be the norm in a few short years, you can bet.
So if your property hasn’t hit the million dollar mark yet, sit back and enjoy it while you can. Because when it does, you’ll be just part of that boring crowd of $1 million home owners.
Have a great summer! If you have any questions about this article, or Beach real estate in general, feel free to contact me at tneal@trebnet.com, or through my office at 416-690-5100. Take care.
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