One Guelph realtor didn’t think the city had enough “clout” to sell a $1.7 million penthouse. But it did. And it happened within five days of it being listed earlier this year.
“I didn't think Guelph had the clout to get to $1.8 for a penthouse but it did and it did quickly,” said Nick FitzGibbon, realtor with Coldwell Banker Neumann Real Estate. People in the local real estate industry were surprised because they hadn’t seen a number like that for a Guelph penthouse yet, he said.
The penthouse at 1880 Gordon St. unit 1403 was listed at $1,799,900 and sold for $1,705,000. It also came with monthly condo fees of $1,017.
It’s a three bedroom, three bathroom 2,360 sq/ft unit.
What he means by clout is the comparison to the luxury condo market here and in places like the Greater Toronto Area, Burlington and Oakville.
The broker who sold the condo is Brad Wylde. He’s the team leader at GoWylde Real Estate part of RE/MAX.
“Everyone thought I was absolutely insane and out to lunch. And they were saying there's no way that that property is going to sell at that price point,” said Wylde.
It was sold on March 27 this year. He and his team set the record for selling the most expensive listed luxury condo in Guelph, he said. The listed price of $1,799,900 was something Guelph hadn't seen in the luxury condo market before. "Nothing even close to that," said Wylde.
He showed several people the condo before it hit the market. The day before it hit the market was the day the buyer came through and put in an offer letter. It was on the market for five days after the offer because the buyer’s lawyer performed a status review. It’s a typical practice where a lawyer looks over the finances of the condo building to ensure it's in good order and reviews its rules and regulations.
While properties like the $1.7 million penthouse can sell quickly, it doesn’t always. It varies on what the market looks like at the time. “So we kind of say it can usually happen really quickly, or it can take quite a long time,” said FitzGibbon. A long time can mean 90 days listed.
Chris Mochrie is broker for M1 Real Estate Brokerage and he rhymed off luxury condo prices he has seen in Guelph from $1.3 million up to nearly $1.8 million, referencing Wylde's listing.
For those not looking to buy a luxury condo the prices may “sound shocking,” said Mochrie.
He can relate since he isn’t at a stage in life where he’d consider buying a more than $1 million condo either. Typically these higher-end condos are penthouses and about 2,000 sq/ft or more. Mochrie called it a rare commodity.
“Obviously, there's only so many penthouses in Guelph,” said Mochrie. He estimates there are about six luxury condo buildings in the city.
Penthouses don’t always mean condo owners have the entire top floor of a building all to themselves. There could be three other penthouse units on the same floor.
The Toronto luxury condo market is more elaborate, FitzGibbon said. The penthouses in the market are multi-level massive terraces with even bigger square footage. In Guelph, there isn’t anything quite that big and most are under 2,000 sq/ft or just a bit over.
If you’re thinking about the cost of condo fees, it depends on the square footage of the unit. “So when you have a higher square footage, you'll be paying more condo fees than, say, the other units in the building,” said FitzGibbon.
Wylde stressed the lower to mid-range condo market is vastly different from the luxury condo market. Lower to mid-range condos tend to sell to investors or first-time home buyers whereas luxury condos are typically buyers who are downsizing from larger estate homes. For this area, it’s often people from Puslinch or people relocating here from Oakville, Burlington or Mississauga, he said.
“So what they're doing is, they're selling their two and a half, three and a half million dollar property, and they want to buy something that's more turnkey, low maintenance, but they don't want to sacrifice on the living space and the quality of finish that they currently have in their luxury property. For them, they're cash buyers. They're not mortgaging a lot of them, so interest rates don't really affect them that much,” said Wylde.
The way luxury condos are sold is different too. Wylde said its relationship based, broker to broker and a network of buyers. For those who saw the $1.7 million condo before it was listed, they had asked Wylde if he knew of any luxury condos in the market.
On Realtor.ca there are three luxury condos listed for sale between $1.3 million and 1.6 million. There is one unit at 160 Macdonell St. and two units at 1878 Gordon St.
