What a difference a year can make!

At this time last year, I was renting units in this building for $1300/month.

Now, this 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom unit is priced at over $400K, with a holdback on offers.

Is that a product of the hot market, or a hot area…..or both?

Geez…..couldn’t whoever took this photo have maybe stepped forward a couple of feet our perhaps out from under that tree above?

Things like this just make me laugh.  I mean you’re selling a huge asset like a piece of real estate, and you spend five seconds taking a crummy photo…

A picture paints a thousand words, but this picture does no justice to this building, unit, or the area itself.

The building might not be the newest condominium in the city, and it might not be the most beautiful.  But the area itself is one of the hottest neighborhoods in Toronto right now both in terms of residential living and in terms of nightlife.

The Distillery District!  I have written posts about this area before, and I feel somewhat justified having said predicted one year ago that this area was about to take off.  After having broken ground on the first tower at 55 Mill Street, development is just about to hit that “boom” phase with four more towers on the way.

In my humble opinion, I might consider this “overdevelopment,” but the entire city is becoming overdeveloped, so I guess when you’re beat, you’re beat!

However, 39 Parliament might come to have a couple of advantages once the three, four, or five towers of 40+ stories are constructed on Mill Street.  For starters, people who think “good things come in small(er) packages” might come to favor the mid-rise, 14-storey building at 39 Parliament over those tall glass buildings reaching for the clouds.  Secondly, 39 Parliament has a clear south view—something that a couple of those large towers might not have.

Have you ever spent a night out in the Distillery District?  Perhaps it’s not quite as spectacular during the winter, but come summer, this area will be a frenzy of activity encompassing essentially all ages and demographics.  The area is home to some of the best restaurants and bars in the city, not to mention being home to some of Toronto’s richest history.

Last summer, I spent a night sitting in the courtyard listening to a live jazz band while drinking an imported, microbrew beer.  It was my first exposure to jazz music yet I felt completely comfortable and far from being “out of my element.”  It made me want to come back to the Distillery District again, perhaps on a different night, and see what more the area has to offer.

Unit #916 at 39 Parliament Street, priced at $429,900, is a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom unit of 1054 square feet spread over two levels of living space, and comes with TWO parking spaces—very rare for such a modestly priced unit!

The unit faces south from the 9th floor, which is perhaps its biggest attraction.  The Gardiner Expressway might be an eyesore but you can still see the water and a good portion of the Toronto shoreline.

The first words on the MLS listing for this unit are “Warm & Wonderful light filled home…”  The first time I set foot in a south-facing unit at 39 Parliament, I was amazed at how the natural light just poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows!  I can’t imagine having to ever turn on a ceiling light or lamp before 9PM on a summer day!  Let’s not forget that there is also a full-length terrace off the living room as well.

The unit itself features 9-foot ceilings and upgrades include the tw0-year-old hardwood flooring, C-Vac, and the two-person jacuzzi upstairs for all those cold winter nights…

Last October, the neighboring unit of exactly the same square footage sold for $415,000, but it was on the market for a whopping 91 days!  Assuming a modest 8.5% appreciation in the market over the last year, this unit (or a similar one) would come to be worth almost $433,000 after the past six months.  This leads me to believe that the $429,900 asking price for Unit #916 is more than fair, especially considering the current state of the market and how little product exists!

A lot changes in a year (or six months!), and we’re in a very interesting market.  Last year, a similar unit took 91 days to sell however something tells me this time around will be different.

The listing agent and the seller have elected to hold back offers until nine days after the commencement of the listing.  Could we see multiple offers on this unit?  Perhaps.

But I’m going to make a more reserved, refined, more modest prediction: this unit will sell in less than 91 days.

Yeah, maybe that’s a cop-out.

But 91 days from now will be perfect patio-weather for an outdoor table in the courtyard at The Distillery District…

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