Downtown Toronto condo prices compared to Manhattan
Downtown Toronto and Manhattan have a lot in common, including a skyline littered with high-priced highrises. But their condo markets are worlds apart.
Doug Vukasovic, a sales representative with Zoocasa, crunched the numbers and found Manhattan is significantly more expensive.
One-bedroom condos are the most popular choice in each market. They represent 52 per cent of all units sold in downtown Toronto at an average price of $617,232. They made up 43 per cent in Manhattan, at an average price of $1,148,827.
At $692,215 — even an average studio apartment in Manhattan is more expensive.
There are a number of factors behind the difference. Toronto is more than 60 per cent larger than Manhattan. It’s also been under development for over 150 years longer.
“Since the turn of the 20th century, there’s been nowhere to go but up—literally. Owning a home in Manhattan today almost invariably means owning a condominium in a multi-unit building,” said Vukosovic in a report.
“Because those condos are older, however, they tend to be larger.”
The average size of a condo in Manhattan’s upper east side is 3,868 sq/ft. But the average price is $11,400,011. At $1,014,835, even Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood doesn’t come close. But at 890 sq/ft, quarters are far more cramped.
It might seem like there are a lot of ultra-rich people in downtown Toronto’s swankiest neighbourhoods, but Manhattan has a lot more.
Vukasovic says nearly one million millionaires reside in the Big Apple.
“That’s fully one-third of Toronto’s entire population. With that many high-net-worth individuals living in a limited area, it’s no wonder competition for Manhattan condos is so notoriously fierce.”
Wealthy buyers in Toronto also have more access to freehold properties just outside of the city’s core, which helps put a cap on luxury condo prices.
Jessy Bains is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jessysbains.
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