Tony Wong – Toronto Star

In the next few weeks developer David Gerofsky plans to open sales of his Toronto condominium project to the general public.

The problem is, he’s already sold 75% of the building’s 616 suites.

Gerofksy, president of developer Great Gulf Group of Companies, is the man behind the insanely popular One Bloor project. He started selling suites to former buyers of the original project at the beginning of April. Select agents got a crack in the second round; the general public gets to finally take a peek this month.

In other words, if One Bloor were a nightclub, the line-ups would be around the block. And Gerofsky would be the guy at the velvet rope.

“There has been a really fantastic response. It’s the best we could hope for,” said Gerofksy in an interview Monday.

The 65-storey mixed-use building at Bloor and Yonge streets is considered the best prime site in the city. The original project under a different developer was a casualty of the global financial crunch in 2008. Great Gulf bought the land and brought the project to market this year.

Sizzling sales at One Bloor is one reason why condo research firm Urbanation inc. is forecasting that the second quarter of this year could set a record for sales of new condos. Toronto’s condo fever shows little signs of abatement, despite warnings from some analysts that the market may be oversupplied.

New Toronto Condos

Toronto condo sales hit a record in the first quarter of 2010, according to a report by Monday.

Developers sold 5,415 new condominiums in first three months of the year, up 491% or nearly six times more than the recession-impacted quarter of 2009. This represents the highest number of first quarter new unit sales on record, according to Urbanation.

Average price per square foot for all new units sold was up modestly from the fourth quarter of 2009 to $443 from $418. Unsold units on the market are asking an average of $509 per square foot.

Prices at the coveted One Bloor site, which started in the high $700-per-square foot range are now over $800 per square foot.

The sizzling sales also brought out a warning from Urbanation executive vice president Ben Myers against “irrational exuberance” among developers.

“If builders overbuild beyond what the market can absorb, an oversupply situation could potentially re-emerge,” warned Myers.

Myers said the Canadian market has seen the return of investors, some of whom are buying multiple units.

“When things go well developers tend to release bigger projects and jack prices up, which could hurt the market,” said Myers.

However, Great Gulf Executive Vice President Bruce Freeman argues that distinctive buildings with central locations such as One Bloor will retain value.

“We’re not trying to be cocky, but there really is only one One Bloor; it’s the best address in the country,” said Freeman.

Freeman said because sales are ahead of schedule, the company was hoping to “speed things up” and potentially get a ground breaking sooner than expected.

By and large, Canadian developers have held the line on pricing during the recession, said Urbanation’s Myers. The problem is whether builders start to get overly optimistic by raising pricing too quickly, while bringing too much supply to the market.

There were 17 new condo projects in the first quarter of this year, while the second quarter is forecast to see an estimated 30 projects alone.

According to Urbanation, resale condo sales were also healthy, almost doubling the figures of the first quarter of 2009.

Average resale prices were $331,000 in the first quarter of 2010, compared with $280,000 in the same quarter last year.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information  –  416-388-1960

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