The 10 Most Sought-After Toronto Condos

The GTA condo market has just over 1800 condos, with a significant chasm between the most reputable, sought-after condos — and the most disreputable and neglected ones.

The top 10 condos are in the top 10th of 1% of the market, and routinely attract droves of clamouring buyers — most of whom will pay dramatically above the list price to secure a unit.

There are condos that feature stunning architectural design, while plagued with lawsuits or poor management. And others, impeccably managed but aesthetically dull.

There are many ways to measure a condo’s worth and no shortage of opinions, but the most accurate method is to look at how the market judges them.

How quickly do units sell? How often do units create frenzied bidding wars? How much has a condo building actually appreciated over the past year?

We at Strata.ca are data junkies and decided to create a list of the approximate 1800 buildings in the GTA, ranking them from the highest demand to the most neglected. Our algorithm scrutinizes the sales history in each building, to give us credible results on the highest to the lowest demand in the market.

These 10 condos are in the top 10th of 1% of the market, and routinely attract droves of clamouring buyers — most of whom will pay dramatically above the list price to secure a unit.

While all of the property developers, condo boards, and managers of these condos would undoubtedly love to bask in the glory of this list and take all the credit, the truth is that in many cases, circumstance (or luck) plays a greater role than merit. We’ll get into those details in the breakdowns below.

What is this list based on?

In creating this list, we wanted to know which buildings buyers would drown a litter of kittens to get their hands on. The algorithm we created does exactly that, based on the following three criteria:

1: How much above the list price buyers pay on average for properties within a condo building (sale-to-list ratio).

2: How long on average units sit on the market before selling (days on market).

3: The degree to which the condos have appreciated in value over the past 12 months (capital growth).

Point one and two carried the most weight in our rankings. The first point, in particular, reflects on the degree to which these condos routinely attract multiple buyers — resulting in a bidding war. Not surprisingly, all of these condos scored a ‘high’ value on Strata.ca on the “likelihood buyers will encounter a bidding war”.

The List — The Top 10 Highest Demand Condos in Toronto

Below is the list (on a ‘score’ out of 10), and some observations on each condo, from #10 down to the #1 spot. All of the stats noted below are featured on Strata.ca.

10: The Space Lofts - 255 Richmond St East

Score: 8.40

The Space Lofts is located along a fairly unremarkable strip on Richmond St East, between Jarvis and Sherbourne. It’s a mid-rise building, with 224 units. Condo fees are higher than average, at $.79 cents per-square-foot (average is $.64 cents per-square-foot in the area). Given this, how did the Space Lofts qualify for this list?

It features the very rare and coveted mezzanine style layout in over 90% of its units. The mezzanine style traditionally features up to 18-foot ceilings over 2 storeys, with the bedroom (or sometimes office) overlooking the living space below.

It’s not always the most practical layout — particularly for couples on different sleep schedules, however, there are fewer than 10 buildings in the entire city that feature this layout! For any developers out there reading this, here’s an opportunity to fill a vacuum.

Strata.ca stats over the past 12 months:

• Units sell for on average $899 per-square-foot
• Units sell on average 11% above the list price
• Units spend on average 6 days on market
• Units have a high probability of receiving multiple offers
• Units have appreciated 14%
• 14 units have sold
• Owners occupy their units on average for 4.8 years

9: The Randolph - 356 Mcrae Drive

Score: 8.42

The Randolph is a condo townhome development in the Leaside area and has one very notable strike against it: the condo maintenance fees are $.92 cents per-square-foot… which is about $.25 cents above average.

The Randolph however doesn’t need care about its sky-high maintenance fees, because the average cost of a house in Leaside is $1.8 million. Buyers wanting anything close to the experience of living in a house in Leaside will have to suck it up and embrace exorbitant condo fees. And they’ll also have to be patient because this 5 storey low-rise houses only 50 townhomes — of which only a small handful are listed per year.

Strata.ca stats over the past 12 months:

• Units sell for on average $591 per-square-foot
• Units sell on average 5% above the list price
• Units spend on average 3 days on market
• Units have a high probability of receiving multiple offers
• Units have appreciated 27%
• 2 units have sold
• Owners occupy their units on average for 9.5 years

8: Bloor-Line Lofts - 284 St Helens Ave

Score: 8.60

The 62 unit and 2 storey Bloor-Line Lofts are a bit like if you took the Candy Factory Lofts, shrunk it down to about a fourth the size and positioned it in an area quickly growing in popularity where overwhelmingly the only real estate options are houses — and houses ain’t cheap!

Combine a lack of affordable housing in an area as desirable as Brockton Village (right next to the Junction Triangle) and a rare, conversion loft featuring some of the most desirable loft features (exposed wooden beams and brick — warehouse style windows) and you’ve got property buyers would kill for.

Strata.ca stats over the past 12 months:

• Units sell for on average $865 per-square-foot
• Units sell on average 9% above the list price
• Units spend on average 4 days on market
• Units have a high probability of receiving multiple offers
• Units have appreciated 16%
• 3 units have sold
• Owners occupy their units on average for 3.7 years

7: Trinity Lofts - 90 Trinity St

Score: 8.64

The Trinity Lofts is another successful development by Streetcar Developments — a property development firm that tends focus on both soft and hard lofts.

This loft made the list for equal parts merit, and circumstance; the former due to its unique structure with only 8 storeys and 83 units, giving it a sense of exclusivity; the latter due to a lack of affordable (condo) housing in the Corktown area. Anyone looking for a mid-rise with a tastefully industrial and modern aesthetic in Corktown won’t have many other options to consider. That or you can buy a house for a cool $1.5 million — the current average price.

Strata.ca stats over the past 12 months:

• Units sell for on average $946 per-square-foot
• Units sell on average 11% above the list price
• Units spend on average 3 days on market
• Units have a high probability of receiving multiple offers
• Units have appreciated 13%
• 2 units have sold
• Owners occupy their units on average for 5.5 years

6: Redpath Residences - 188 Redpath Ave

Score: 8.70

The Redpath Residences at a glance don’t look like they belong on this list. The condo building was built in 2000 and looks a bit, well — tired. However, when you look a little closer there are a number of attractive features.

The Yonge/Eglinton area is dominated by monolithic, 500-unit-plus high-rise condos. The Randolph is a mid-rise at 8 storeys and houses only 86 units.

The units feature very functional layouts, without any wasted space. This boutique condo is also located on Redpath, a small residential street (always more desirable than being positioned on a major road). Residents are just steps away from the very desirable Yonge and Eglinton area but removed just enough to insulate from all the hustle and bustle.

Strata.ca stats over the past 12 months:

• Units sell for on average $845 per-square-foot
• Units sell on average 15% above the list price
• Units spend on average 4 days on market
• Units have a high probability of receiving multiple offers
• Units have appreciated 14%
• 4 units have sold
• Owners occupy their units on average for 5.7 years

5: The Sylvia Lofts - 50 Camden St

Score: 8.74

The Sylvia Lofts is one of the most convincing ‘soft lofts’ in the downtown core. For those new to the loft game, a soft loft is a condo built to look like a true hard-conversion loft (such as the Toy Factory or Candy Factory Lofts). Distinguishing The Sylvia from a conversion isn’t easy.

Sylvia Lofts may not make the list of the most popular women’s names in the 21st century, but it’s a beautiful building on Camden — a quiet street sandwiched between the best parts of both Queen and King West. Camden St is sort of like the St. Lawrence Market’s Lombard St equivalent on the west side of Yonge.

And not surprisingly, The Sylvia is a 7 storey mid-rise with only 55 units and incredibly functional layouts, void of long and useless corridors. The condo fees are high, at about $.20 cents per-square-foot above average, but that doesn’t seem to be hurting the building's popularity.

Strata.ca stats over the past 12 months:

• Units sell for on average $981 per-square-foot
• Units sell on average 6% above the list price
• Units spend on average 2 days on market
• Units have a high probability of receiving multiple offers
• Units have appreciated 21%
• 2 units have sold
• Owners occupy their units on average for 3.9 years

4: One Park Lane III Condos - 211 St Patrick St

Score: 8.90

One Park Lane III Condos had me scratching my head a bit. It was launched in 1982, back when 500-square-foot one bedrooms and 700-square-foot two bedrooms would bankrupt a property developer.

The building is quite dated but checks off a lot of boxes. To start, it’s a mid-rise at 16 storeys and houses 127 units (still well below the average unit-per-building count for downtown Toronto) in the Grange Park area — a very desirable pocket of the downtown core with lower than average condo inventory.

As baby boomers continue to sell their homes and downgrade to a lower maintenance lifestyle, 211 St. Patrick fulfills a rapidly growing demand for both affordable and large, 2 to 3 bedroom units, ranging from 1215 to 1800 square feet.

Despite its age, the condo fees are also remarkably low, at $.67 cents per-square-foot. However, unlike newer condos, residents at One Park Lane III have never seen a utility bill. Their condo fees cover everything.

Strata.ca stats over the past 12 months:

• Units sell for on average $750 per-square-foot
• Units sell on average 7% above the list price
• Units spend on average 3 days on market
• Units have a high probability of receiving multiple offers
• Units have appreciated 22%
• 2 units have sold
• Owners occupy their units on average for 19.8 years

3: Bloor West Mews Condos - 262 St Helens Ave

Score: 8.92

The Bloor West Mews Condos is a popular townhome development in the Bloor West and Brockton Village area.

This is an obvious one. For those who have been priced out of buying a house in Bloor West, well, this is as close as you’re going to get to that experience. And there aren’t many to go around with only 28 in total within the entire development.

Condo fees are also obscenely low, at $.38 cents per-square-foot. Is there a gym, pool, guest suites, and concierge? Absolutely not. However, there’s no short supply of buyers who would happily forfeit those conveniences for a low monthly condo fee bill.

Strata.ca stats over the past 12 months:

• Units sell for on average $828 per-square-foot
• Units sell on average 9% above the list price
• Units spend on average 5 days on market
• Units have a high probability of receiving multiple offers
• Units have appreciated 29%
• 2 units have sold
• Owners occupy their units on average for 6.5 years

2: Brewery Lofts - 90 Sumach St

Score: 9.20

The runner-up on this list is the Brewery Lofts. It’s a true conversion loft — formerly the Dominion Brewery complex circa 1878 — tucked away on a quiet residential street in the Regent Park/Corktown neighbourhood. The building feature grand open concept units with high ceilings and exposed industrial feature — although always tastefully.

The 7-storey loft houses 110 units and was once home to Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and puppeteer Jim Henson.

A friend in the building once told me the residents regularly have an ‘open door’ meet and greet, where residents are encouraged to leave their doors open and stroll throughout the building to meet their neighbours for an evening. In a society of not knowing their neighbours — this is priceless.

Strata.ca stats over the past 12 months:

• Units sell for on average $928 per-square-foot
• Units sell on average 23% above the list price
• Units spend on average 2 days on market
• Units have a ‘high’ probability of receiving multiple offers
• Units have appreciated 23%
• 2 units have sold
• Owners occupy their units on average for 5.2 years

1: The Creed Lofts - 295 Davenport Rd

Score: 9.24

The Creed Lofts takes the coveted first place on this list, which isn’t exactly surprising. It’s a true conversion loft (noticing a trend?), a former fur warehouse for the Creed’s Department Store from the 30’s (went bust in the 80’s) with only 19 units.

It’s also located in the Yorkville/Annex neighbourhood, which has a modest supply of gilded luxury condos, but virtually no supply of conversion lofts.

When taking into account the desirability of the area, the exclusivity of the 19-unit building and its status as a true conversion loft (in an area devoid of them), it’s clear how it made its way to the top of the list.

Strata.ca stats over the past 12 months:

• Units sell for on average $921 per-square-foot
• Units sell on average 10% above the list price
• Units spend on average 3 days on market
• Units have a high probability of receiving multiple offers
• Units have appreciated 15%
• 2 units have sold
• Owners occupy their units on average for 4.1 years

And that’s the list. Now let’s get into what we’ve learned from it.

Three notable trends

If you’re a data nerd like us, you've likely read through my notes on each building and have noticed a few patterns. To sum up, they are:

1. Lofts are more popular than traditional condos

Six of the ten condos on this list are loft style condos — a mix of soft and hard lofts (non-conversion buildings and conversion buildings respectively).

But is that really any surprise? Of the approximate 1700 condos in the GTA, only about 150 of them are lofts. And of those, in my opinion, at least, I know most of us at Strata.ca would only recommend about a quarter of them to our clients. The catch, however, is that lofts go for a premium; usually at least $100 per-square-foot higher than traditional condos.

2. Buyers want low and mid-rise condos

Not one condo on this list qualifies as a high-rise. Not one. In fact, 7 is the average number of storeys among the 10 condos on this list, and 84 the average number of units. To compare to all of the condo buildings in the GTA, the average number of storeys is 19, and the average number of units is 243. In other words, the top 10 condos on this list have about one third the number of storeys and units in your average GTA condo building.

Smaller buildings are more exclusive, less transient and offer a greater sense of community than their high-rise counterparts. Owners are also less likely to compete with similar units when they sell their own. The catch, as goes with lofts, is that they also tend to sell at a premium.

3. Locations with low condo supply

Seven out of the ten condos on this list are in what you could call a “goldilocks zone” for condos; highly desirable locations with a very limited supply of affordable housing. Economics 101: low supply equals high demand.

What about the top 10 least in-demand condos?

While it’s certainly tempting to rattle off the list here (and I certainly considered it), it’s simply not fair to the residents living in the condos with the lowest scores.

However taking a close look at the lowest ranking ten, they tend to be in either undesirable neighbourhoods, or neighbourhoods saturated with condo inventory. The least-desirable buildings tend to be your garden-variety condo — not lofts, or buildings featuring any unique aesthetic appeal. They’re all high-rises, with over 400 units. And they all have higher than average condo fees with an average at about $.78 cents per-square-foot.