TEK Tower (30 Francis) | 45 fl | U/C

[jeffster]

Especially since a lot of new rental stock will come onto the market before then. In downtown Kitchener alone there will be the Bow (aka Arrow 2), Civic 66, Ophelia, Drewlo,  387 King St E and Woodside phase 2 -- and a lot more in the East End.

I think most of those investors will be cash flow negative and just hoping for appreciation.

I doubt it. We still have a serious housing shortage in Kitchener, and that isn't going to change with a handful of building coming online in the coming year. What it might do is depress prices a little bit with the more rundown and older buildings.

[tomh009]

Especially since a lot of new rental stock will come onto the market before then. In downtown Kitchener alone there will be the Bow (aka Arrow 2), Civic 66, Ophelia, Drewlo,  387 King St E and Woodside phase 2 -- and a lot more in the East End.

I think most of those investors will be cash flow negative and just hoping for appreciation.

I doubt it. We still have a serious housing shortage in Kitchener, and that isn't going to change with a handful of building coming online in the coming year. What it might do is depress prices a little bit with the more rundown and older buildings.

OK, let's do some quick math. Let's say you buy a modestly-sized 400 sqft 1BR unit at Station Park B or at TEK, for about $450K. At about 3%, your interest costs will be $13,500 per year (and rates may climb substantially given current inflation). You'll spend $2500 on condo fees and about $4500 on property taxes. That's the bare minimum, and it means you are spending $20,500 per year (or $1700 per month) on costs (no mortgage principal yet). Add in paying for a property manager (unless you are going to do that work yourself for "free") and some budget for repairs/maintenance. And you'll quite likely have some months between tenants, too.

You can make money given a sufficient increase in property prices (by the time you sell). But, at these prices, I highly doubt you can be cash flow positive during your period of ownership.

[CP42]

It is very difficult to be cash flow positive with a condo in the area. 
The exception being if you purchased several years ago (e.g. Charlie West sales in 2017-2018) and are just now beginning to pay your mortgage and collect rent which has significantly increased since the time of purchase.

[tomh009]

It is very difficult to be cash flow positive with a condo in the area. 
The exception being if you purchased several years ago (e.g. Charlie West sales in 2017-2018) and are just now beginning to pay your mortgage and collect rent which has significantly increased since the time of purchase.

Very difficult with a new-build condo. More doable with a somewhat older building. Even Garment St has a 700 sqft unit for sale for $420K. Much easier to rent a 700 sqft 1BR unit than a 400 sqft one.

So many people think that buying and renting out a condo is a guaranteed lottery ticket, though.

[CP42]

It is very difficult to be cash flow positive with a condo in the area. 
The exception being if you purchased several years ago (e.g. Charlie West sales in 2017-2018) and are just now beginning to pay your mortgage and collect rent which has significantly increased since the time of purchase.

Very difficult with a new-build condo. More doable with a somewhat older building. Even Garment St has a 700 sqft unit for sale for $420K. Much easier to rent a 700 sqft 1BR unit than a 400 sqft one.

So many people think that buying and renting out a condo is a guaranteed lottery ticket, though.

Exactly. Also worth considering that most will sell over the asking price. You can use an app like House Sigma to see actual sales prices. 

There is a 573 sqft 1-bed unit that sold in garment street 17 days ago. Listed for 400,000 and sold for 600,000. 

Also a 668 sqft 1-bed in garment street sold 9 days ago - listed for 499,000 and sold for 630,500.

And finally a 631 sqft 1-bed in garment street that sold 2 days ago - listed for 449,000 and sold for 621,000 (without even a parking spot)…

[tomh009]

Wow. I have HouseSigma but had not looked at the actuals for Garment St. Those are all about $1000/sqft! Kaufman, 270, Arrow etc will be much less expensive on a sqft basis.

And, yes, eventually the reality will hit the condo investors, and we'll see a smaller percentage of investor units sold and more resident owners.

[CP42]

Close to big box stores and the LON!

[jeffster]

Close to big box stores and the LON!

If one is coming in from Toronto, it is close to all those things. I'd say anything within a 5 to 10 minute drive is close. KW is about 400,000. So while something might be further away compared to Toronto, you don't have the traffic, so everything is actually closer.

It is close to the ION though.

[jamincan]

It's weird that they're selling proximity to big box stores. DTK actually has excellent access to the 401 compared to most urban areas in KW.

[panamaniac]

It's weird that they're selling proximity to big box stores. DTK actually has excellent access to the 401 compared to most urban areas in KW.

I can just see the investors thinking "close to CF Fairview Park Mall, where do I sign up?"!

[ac3r]

I would love to be able to ride the LON to Big Box Stores. Maybe I will Reigster Now.

[Lebronj23]

Sales starting in March. Does anyone know the typical timeline from sales to ground breaking? I suspect this will sell out over 80% or sell out pretty quickly given the demand. 

[attachment=8162]

[tomh009]

Those phone screenshots are HUGE ...

[CP42]

Those phone screenshots are HUGE ...

Haha just looked on a computer and they indeed are.
I always use my phone for this site, and it looks normal on there.

[jeffster]

It's weird that they're selling proximity to big box stores. DTK actually has excellent access to the 401 compared to most urban areas in KW.

I can just see the investors thinking "close to CF Fairview Park Mall, where do I sign up?"!

Yes, the addition of "CF" is the clincher here.