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VIP Event: Limelight Condos in Mississauga City Centre

Roy Bhandari — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 05:40:58 +0000

Amit & Roy were invited to a special VIP event for the new Limelight Condos in the Mississauga City Centre – Daniels next major Condo development in the area. We have been excited about this project for some time, Daniels have done a lot of advertising and the concept of the "green glow" at the top of the building will definitely be a standout in the ever evolving Mississauga Skyline. To add to this, Limelight focuses on "Green Living" and offers a number of amenities, such as Car Shares and Green Roofs to emphasize this.

Limelight will stand 22 storeys and house 236 units ranging from 450sq.ft. to 1276sq.ft. Daniels have been a huge part of building Mississauga's City Centre skyline with 4 major developments under their belt (4080/4090 Living Arts, 388 Prince of Wales, 385 Prince of Wales, 1/33 Elm).

We have been critical in the past on the overpricing of some of the Condo developments in Mississauga, and how they compare to resale options that a purchaser may have. On average, the current market price for a Condo in Mississauga's City Centre is approximately $325-$375 per square foot for a comparable development (Prince of Wales, Absolute, Duke of York etc.). Limelight Condos are priced at approximately $450-$465 for the lowest floor available. Some unit's even go as high as $500 per square foot if you take it on a high enough floor. At these prices, I think the development is best suited for end-users rather than investors.

Make no mistake about it, Daniels are pushing the limits with what they are offering buyers: Bamboo flooring and upgraded kitchen as standard and very nice amenities to boot, I'm just not sure we are ready for this price point in Mississauga yet.

OTHER NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Development	Price/Sq.Ft.	Occupancy	Deposit Structure
Limelight	$450-$465	July 2012	15% + 5%
Chicago	$425-$475	June 2010	$10,000* Special offer
Pinnacle at Grand Park	$375-$390	December 2012	15% + 5%
Residences	$400-$425	December 2011	15%
Grand Residences	$400-$425	Summer 2012	15% + 5%

Anyone looking at purchasing a new development in Mississauga's City Centre has the luxury of choosing between a number of projects all within close proximity. Limelight is the most expensive development at this point in time in terms of per square foot. If you are interested in purchasing a condo in the City Centre and would like to go through all the options, contact us for more detailed information.

RESALE

Development	Price/Sq.Ft
One Park Tower (388 Prince of Wales)	$340-$400
Capital Condos (4080/4090 Living Arts)	$300-$350
Grand Ovation (310 Burnhamthorpe)	$315-$350
Ultra Ovation (330 Burnhamthorpe)	$335-$375

It is very important to compare any new development against the current resale market. The resale market tells us where the market is TODAY and allows us to predict where it will be TOMORROW. On average, the City Centre Condos have increased at an average of 6% per year (approximately) and are currently priced between $325-$375 for comparable condos. Given the appreciation rate of 6% and current market price, it will take approximately 3-6 years for the market to catch up $450 per square foot, which is what Daniels are charging for Limelight today.

It will be very interesting to see how the new Chicago Condos (385 Prince of Wales), currently listed for around $440 per square foot will affect the price in the City Centre Market.

OVERALL

	Description	Our Rating (/5)
BUILDER	Daniels remains one of the most reliable builders in the game. Excellent quality and are pushing Absolute Towers in terms of standard finishes.	5
LOCATION	City Centre is Mississauga's premium location for Condos.	4
APPRECIATION RATE	Comparable City Centre Condos appreciate at 5-6% per year. For investors looking to maximize their return can find better returns in Toronto (as high as 10-12% per year)	3
PRICE	Priced around $450-$465 is higher than the current resale and most other new developments. However, Daniels have the track record and can pull it off.	2
DEPOSIT STRUCTURE	15% + 5% is as good as you are going to see in new developments these days unless you are looking at inventory clearances or special developments.	4
OVERALL (Not an average)	I have no doubt that this will be a terrific project that will sell a large number of units and the final product will add a lot to the Mississauga skyline. Unique amenities that will attract the "Green" crowd with energy saving features throughout. Investors may want to look twice at the price point before stumping up the cash.	3.5

If you are interested in receiving floorplans or would like to attend the special VIP sales event for Limelight Condos, contact us ASAP using the form below.

[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]

Interested in other great developments in Toronto? Click Here for our list of major developments currently selling to VIP agents. Other HOT Developments: Tableau | Studio | The Mercer | Chaz on Charles | Bisha

Pinnacle at Grand Park – New Condo Development in Mississauga City Centre

Roy Bhandari — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:51:08 +0000

Amit & Roy recently visited the new sales office for Pinnacle at Grand Park (by Pinnacle International) which will be opening to the public sometime in the fall. One of the biggest features of the sales center is that they have all five floorplans created as model suites, giving potential home buyers a real sense of what they are buying.

The finishes are on par with those found in other new Condo Developments in the immediate area (Chicago and the Residences). Laminate flooring, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances (note: Residences are offering black appliances as standard) are on par with what we have seen in the new developments in the area.

In terms of Value, Pinnacle Condos are cheaper than their direct competitors while offering similar features. One of my biggest problems with new condo developments in Mississauga has been that they are charging as high as $450 per square foot despite some of the newer resale buildings selling around $350 per square foot – can potential home buyers make that additional $100 per square foot back? Pinnacle is priced very aggressively compared to other new developments around $375-$390 per square foot.

OTHER NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Development	Price/Sq.Ft.	Occupancy	Deposit Structure
Pinnacle	$375-$390	December 2012	15% + 5%
Chicago	$425-$475	June 2010	$10,000* Special offer
Residences	$400-$425	December 2011	15%
Grand Residences	$400-$425	Summer 2012	15% + 5%

Pinnacle offers great value when compared to the other new developments. It is the cheapest of the three new developments in the area while offering very similar finishes and features.

It is also important to take a look at the current resale market in the area to determine how well priced the current development is. Recent developments by Daniels including One Park Tower (388 Prince of Wales), The Capital Condos (4080/4090 Living Arts), Grand Ovation (310 Burnhamthorpe) and Ultra Ovation (330 Burnhamthorpe) offer decent comparables in the resale market and allow us to take a look at what kind of appreciation rate we can expect in the new buildings.

The following Price/Sq.Ft are based on the last 10 sales in the building as of August 4th, 2010.

CURRENT COMPARABLE RESALE PRICES

Development	Price/Sq.Ft
One Park Tower (388 Prince of Wales)	$340-$400
Capital Condos (4080/4090 Living Arts)	$300-$350
Grand Ovation (310 Burnhamthorpe)	$315-$350
Ultra Ovation (330 Burnhamthorpe)	$335-$375

Again, I believe that at less than $400 per square foot Pinnacles offers good value when compared to other developments. The condos are selling by and large at today's prices and will be closing in 2.5 years which will allow for growth in real estate value.

If you are interested in getting more information on Pinnacle Grand Park (or any of the other developments listed above) please contact us using the form below.

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Why I Wouldn’t Go Anywhere Near the New Condo Market in Central Mississauga

Roy Bhandari — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:37:19 +0000

One thing I love about Real Estate is that every client has different needs and this allows me to look at new and interesting ways to serve my clients. A client that I have recently done some work for had one simple question: Should I buy a New Condo in Mississauga, or Resale? Where is my money going to work for me the most? Seems straight forward and I've heard agents give standard answers such as "depends on your preference" or "do you want to move in now or in two years", which is fine – however, I took it upon myself to take it one step further and do some…you know, RESEARCH so that I could answer his question. One of the biggest "misconceptions" is that new development is cheaper and that by the time you move into the Condo (or Home) that it is going to be worth more. This both true and false at the same time as you have to look at the whole picture. In the case for my Client, he was asking about New Condos and Resale Condos and what was the better option. In order to answer his question, I needed to take a look at what was available given a certain budget in the resale market, and then what was available in the New Condo market and compare the two. We know that for a newer Condo Development (such as the buildings at Absolute and Duke of York) sell for approximately $300-$350 per square foot. This means that any new development should be priced at around the same price in order for you to see any return by the time you move into the Condo – which could be anywhere from 6 months to 2 years from now. Given the Real Estate Appreciation of approximately 5% per year (the average across the Toronto Real Estate Board), that means that in 2 years, a property that costs $350 per square foot today, will be worth $385 per square foot in two years time. That will effectively be the "market price" for a newer Condo in and around the Square One area in two years from now given the average appreciation rate. Therefore, the "MARKET" price of the new developments NOW need to be such that, in two years time when Mississauga hits around $385-$425 per square foot, that you would have made some money on your investment. That means, you should be paying around $300-$350 per square foot for any new developments. I looked at 5 new developments and looked at their pricing, and then it was pretty obvious why they were struggling to sell their inventory. A couple of developments are going to be closing in the next few months and they still have a number of units left. Here is what I found: Chicago [Closing June 2010] : $425-$450 per square foot and closing this year. I think I'd rather invest in Toronto with those kinds of numbers, thank you very much. How long will it take for Mississauga to catch up to this kind of pricing? I didn't see anything in the development that made me jump out of my chair. Onyx [Closing December 2010] : $410-$435 per square foot Residences at Parkside Village [Closing December 2011]: $400-$430 per square foot. Grand Residences at Parkside Village [Closing Summer 2012]: $400-$430 per square foot Elle at Parkside Village [Closing Summer 2010]: $375-$400 per square foot Wide Suites [Closing December 2010]: Approx $350 per square foot. So what does this all mean? And should I buy a new condo in Mississauga? First of all, I am not bashing buying new – I love the new development market, however, looking at the numbers it's obvious why some of the sales centers have been open for a couple of years and still haven't sold out. There is a lot of benefit in buying a new condo, being the first owner for a unit gives a lot of pride and, if done correctly can be a terrific investment opportunity (check our our great blog about Buying New vs. Resale). Essentially, as an investment, you want to be paying TODAY'S prices for what you invest in TODAY and buy TOMORROW. In the case of the developments that I have studied, you are paying TOMMOROW'S prices for what you invest in TODAY and buy TOMORROW. This means that by the time you have moved into the property, it has not increased in value at all, but the rest of the market is just catching up to the price that you paid 2 years ago. I know a number of people purchased in the Absolute buildings 2-3 years before they were constructed, however, they paid what the property would have been worth by the time the buildings were built and not at the time they were purchased. This meant that those who needed to sell immediately ended up breaking even or LOSING money on what they had invested in 2-3 years prior. Rule #1 in Mississauga Real Estate, you should never lose money! I have worked with a number of people who have been very successful in buying new developments as investments and if it is something you are interested in, please don't hesitate to contact me and I will let you know some of the better developments to invest in. Image: by thinkpanama [link]