The Lowdown on Downtown West

Your Typical Neighbour

Honestly. Typical is not a word that belongs here. With residences ranging from multi-million dollar penthouses to no-bedroom studios, your neighbour could be anyone.

What We

Tasty food trucks to 5 star dining. Seedy pub to the Symphony. Walk out your door to EVERYTHING! Convenience is what we like best.

What We Don't

The condo boom in this, the heart of the city, has been massive. Not all buildings are equal, and it takes experience to get to know the good from the bad. Space can be expensive. Plus rush hour is not for the faint of heart here.

Property Statistics in Downtown West

Source: TREB Statistics

If you don’t like the idea of condo living, this is likely not the neighbourhood for you. While homes DO exist in this area bounded by Bathurst, Queen, Yonge and the Gardiner Expressway, they are few and far between and they when they do come up they sell fast. And to be honest, aside from one or two heritage home lined streets, the ones that are left tend to stick out among their neighbours as a wealth of condominium projects, high rise to low rise and everything in between have sprung up all around them; many have simply been converted to commercial use.

Part of the surge in residential traffic is a result of the aforementioned Cityplace. Chic loft conversions in the former Garment District as well as a number of other condo developments along Wellington, Richmond and Queen have opened up the opportunity to buy in a big way. And the offerings are vast: from studio spaces, all the way to multi-million dollar spaces with expansive views in buildings that will park your car for you and send a masseuse to your living room, there are no conveniences to be overlooked in condo living here, depending entirely on your financial situation.

Never before have first time buyers, young professionals, and the super-wealthy been found intermingling in such close proximity. The numerous cranes that have been occupying the Toronto skyline own the diversity that exists in this area. The broader result is an international flavor in food, entertainment and retail offerings that makes Downtown West the convenient, spectacular residential opportunity that it is. And there are some architecturally stunning things to stare up at on your brief walk to the evening’s delights too!

HOUSE STATS

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
AVERAGE PRICE $1,060,000 $940,000 N/A N/A $1,075,000 N/A
PRICE: Low-High $889,000-$1,231,000 $940,000-$940,000 N/A N/A $1,075,000-$1,075,000 N/A
AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET 10 38 N/A N/A 14 N/A
# OF SALES 2 1 0 0 1 0

CONDO STATS

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
AVERAGE PRICE $423,077 $434,142 $461,636 $501,233 $624,508 $704,591
PRICE: Low-High $170,000-$1,650,000 $270,200-$3,500,000 $3,500-$6,000,000 $28,000-$4,058,000 $4,000-$6,200,000 $5,000-$8,000,000
AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET 37 36 35 25 17 21
# OF SALES 1157 1416 1930 2719 2462 2000

Area: 8km

Population: 43,365

Demographics

Kids: 6%

Youth: 11%

Seniors: 7%

Visible Minority: 36.8%

Average Family Income: $110,684

Education

Lower Education: 16.1%

Higher Education: 28.8%

Home Ownership

Owned Homes: 51%

Tenanted Homes: 49%

Unfortunately the $2 Billion dollar Cityplace Plan wasn’t ‘family centric’. Getting this kids to school is going to involve a little bit of travel.

Union Station, the hub of transit in and out of the downtown core is located within this neighbourhood. Multiple transit options moving towards and away from it are right outside your door. Drivers are quite close to the major arteries, though they induce blood boils during rush hour.

About Downtown West

Toronto’s Downtown West area (south of Queen, from Bathurst to Yonge) encompasses virtually all of what defines downtown living in a multicultural urban metropolis. Amenities and convenience are the name of this game, as anything you could ever want is within a 10-minute walk outside your door.

The Financial District, the Entertainment District, the Fashion District, the Theatre District…it’s all here! You can have a 5-star meal and go to the Opera. You can grab poutine and catch a flick. Heck, if you grab a map you can even take Toronto’s much-loved underground PATH system and indulge in some retail therapy without ever stepping outside. Now, if this isn’t the finest example of modern convenience… we don’t know what is. The only potential trade-off for this kind of accessibility could be living space. Luckily, there are endless options when it comes to: layouts, condos, and new builds, to choose from. This also makes the demographic of residents in the Downtown West core as varied, and diverse, as their surroundings.

A major factor in the growth of retail and nightlife in this area is the massive increase in condo development in recent years. The dormant railway lands adjacent to the Rogers Centre (Skydome for you purists!) were finally sold by the city in 1998 after it took 30+ years contemplating what to do with them. Shortly after, a massive $2 Billion development began. What we know today as ‘Cityplace’ is thought to be responsible for the addition of roughly 12,000 new residents to the Downtown west area alone. With continued investment in this area of ‘the six’ the future of Downtown West is one of perpetual expansion, evolution, and offerings.


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