My First Adventure into Real Estate Investment in Downtown Toronto

Ok so here is the story on how I got into Toronto real estate. Now I want to preface this post by saying I don’t know anything about real estate. I’m a designer. I know how to stage a house for the market. But do I actually know anything about real estate? No. But, to be fair. I don’t think most people know much about real estate. BUT, I am actively trying to gain an understanding of real estate, the market, mortgages etc…but I’ve come to realize that it’s not something you can understand overnight.

The right time to purchase real estate

As a Torontonian, the real estate market is something that has always made me feel anxious. People worldwide know Toronto’s reputation in real estate – it’s a CRAZY market. Prices are high (very, very high) and interest rates have been recently rising. It’s truly a privilege to say you own in Toronto.

It seems like everyone is waiting for the “right time” or a lucky break to get into the market.

When is the right time to purchase real estate? If you ask a relator, it’s ALWAYS the right time to buy, in fact, yesterday was the right time!!!

Will there be a crash?

Will interest rates go down???

What is everyone waiting for or betting on?

I don’t think anyone really knows.

I got in by stumbling upon the right opportunity for me. In my opinion, there’s no real right time to buy real estate, it’s only a matter of it being the right time for you.

Here’s how I got into the real estate market in downtown Toronto

I’ve been thinking about getting into the market for a while, even before I was even eligible to. I always saw the value in building equity with property and determined that it was a goal for me to own a couple of properties. I started to seriously consider getting into the market in November of 2022. However, I was at a crossroads and didn’t really know if Toronto was the place I wanted to live and invest in. And honestly, I’m still unsure. 

Months go by and I am periodically checking in on the MLS sites to see if any property really speaks to me. Now, being an interior designer, condo shopping is really fun and imaginative for me. Every time I would find a potential place I would visualize the whole space fully transformed with all my ideas. Each condo I looked at would spark new ideas. In fact, it’s always been a dream of mine to furnish and decorate my own place, no surprise there. But, at this point, I was still really unsure if it was the right time for me to invest in real estate. So I kept window shopping as I tried to make up my mind.

Springtime came around and I really started to warm up to the idea of purchasing a condo. However, I felt like it wasn’t the right time for multiple reasons. In short; fear of a recession, climbing interest rates and a busy personal life.

So I put a hold on my plans and went back to window shopping. 

From first-time home buyer jitters to making the purchase…

Then, I started to play with the idea of investing in a pre-construction condo. I thought it might be a good option for me as it would buy me some time to figure out my life and I liked the idea of a brand-new condo. So, I contacted my agent and asked him if he knew of any pre-construction projects that I might be interested in. At this point, I still wasn’t really serious. I had the first-time home buyer jitters. Like the guys on Tinder, I was commitment-phobic.

I was window shopping with the intention of learning a bit more about pre-construction and seeing what my options were. My agent sent me a couple of online pamphlets of some pre-construction projects. I took a look and I liked one project, it had an amazing location and beautiful design. My agent suggests that we have a meeting at the showroom, and I was like sure, why not. 

At this point, I was still not serious about making a purchase, I really only wanted to get my toes wet into real estate while I thought about taking a plunge. I wanted a situationship with real estate, not a full-blown relationship.

So, anyway, I get to the showroom and I start talking to the consultant there. He tells me that I walked in at the perfect time as his boss just disclosed the new purchasing incentives. I was intrigued but didn’t think much of it, as I said, I wasn’t serious at this point. It was my first and only showroom visit so I really wasn’t expecting to find “the one”.

The too-good-to-be-true incentive

So, the showroom consultant tells me that the new incentives were; free assignment, immediate right to rent AND only 5% down until closing.

When I heard only 5% down until closing, it really got my attention. But, I was very skeptical. It sounded too good to be true. My agent even said he’s never heard of an incentive as good as this. 

The showroom consultant says the new incentives were valid as of Monday, it was Thursday. 

As I said, I was skeptical and told my agent that I would need to see this incentive in writing.

I took the floor plans and contract home and started to ponder a bit more about the possibility of actually pulling the trigger. Then, I went through all the available floor plans and started to imagine each condo fully decorated. I went through the process of elimination and eventually landed on a floor plan that I liked and could see myself transforming into a super cool space. 

Check out my client’s downtown Toronto condo that I transformed. ^

DEAL or NO DEAL – Toronto real estate addition

I told my agent that if the incentive was legitimate, we’d have a deal. Honestly, I was expecting my agent to call me on Monday with a catch. So, even though I picked out a floor plan, it was all just talk at this point. I didn’t really think this real estate deal would go through.

To my surprise, my agent calls me and tells me that the 5% down incentive is legitimate.

I realized that this was one of those situations in life that I had to act fast on. So, I did. I signed the paperwork, paid my 5%, got a lawyer to look through the deal and everything was set in stone. I purchased a pre-construction condo in downtown Toronto and got into the real estate market. 

Now, the downside is that the condo won’t be finished until early 2026 (or so they say, I am expecting delays). But the good thing is that this type of real estate purchase gives me a little more flexibility until then. Life can change in a blink of an eye, so honestly, who knows what I will decide to do with this property until then. But, it feels like the right move into the market for me given my personal circumstances and long-term goals.

So, that’s my story on how I broke into the real estate market in Toronto. So, I would encourage you to look into pre-construction projects in Toronto, it might be the right real estate move for you too.

I plan to write a follow-up blog post on my design plans for this new condo, so stay tuned!