PaulJohnston.com - Unique Urban Homes

There. I’ve gone and done it. A snazzy headline to catch your attention which suggests some long-winded and divinely accurate analysis of the future of Toronto Real Estate. Heck, keep reading, we might even invite you to buy a book or attend a seminar…

Ahem, sorry for any disappointment.

As my past clients know, when the conversation of investment comes up, I really try to focus attention on what I believe to be the true consideration: what will living in a particular home, in a particular neighbourhood, truly mean to you? What kind of ‘investment’ in your own happiness and sense of home are you making? What is the likelihood that your home purchase will satisfy your own needs for a safe, comfortable and appropriate PLACE to go about the business of living? No spreadsheets, no return on capital, no market hocus-pocus and no diatribes about the future investment returns of your decision. I will, alas, never get a radio show.

What has happened in the city, is that the investor-driven marketplace has really eclipsed in both profile and perhaps dollar value the portion of the market that I chose to focus on: “Real People Living in Real Home” (trademark pending). The industry calls these people end-users. Frightening. Yet, the enormous amount of the media attention given to the fate of Toronto’s real estate market has inadvertently focused on the challenges faced by high-rise developments. What that entirely obscures is that, just like soya bean futures, the highrise marketplace has been dominated and indeed driven by investors. These are investors who have created their own micro-economy that is practically a little city-state of buyers who don’t much care what the quality of “living” has to do with their investment. The city-state has taken over the topic.

So my concern is that the ‘correction’ happening high in the condo skies risks white-washing the marketplace that you and I care about – good old fashioned homes. You know, places where people buy to live?

So, when you come back to the ground – quite literally – you find the real marketplace. In lowrise homes with front yards and backyards, in delicate mid-rise buildings set in existing neighbourhoods, in cherished buildings built before the boom – these are the places we need to look to truly understand the value of real estate. In the homes that people purchase in order to inhabit, to rent out basements, to plan kitchen renovations or drag ikea boxes up the stairs – in the very homes that taken together create neighbourhoods of invested and engaged families. And what do you know? This market is vibrant and robust and exciting – homes are changing hands, first time buyers are seeking out delicate midrise buildings with livable floorplans, and families are moving a few streets over to get more space with baby on the way.

Think about that: real homes, for real people, in real neighbourhoods. They are as popular as oxygen, as vital as a Sunday roast of beef. So don’t let the headlines obscure what’s really at stake here, which is your happiness, your comfort and your joy of knowing what it feels like to be home.

There will be no seminar. Sorry.

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If you are of a certain age, I challenge you to keep that song out of your brain for the next hour. Not so easy, is it? As a teenager and into my early 20s, I worked fairly consistently as a dj. While my true love was early house music – and I sought any opportunity to fill my crates with obscure 12″ tracks, picking up gigs at such illustrious venues as the Lizard Lounge or Rockit – what ultimately paid the bills were good old high school dances and weddings. I was not a wedding singer, but the next…

I’m asked with enough frequency “where do I see the market going”, that I’m able to hopefully provide a fairly considered response. Entirely accurate? Well, ultimately only time will tell. The two greatest developments of late in my business have been the emergence of consequential infill “at grade” housing, and some very exciting mid-rise developments. I’ve had the honour of helping to bring some exceptional developments to the market, some of which we are now seeing ‘emulated’ by other builders. That’s entirely flattering, of course, but it also creates a challenge for the buyer: trying to identify the authentic from…

One of the most rewarding aspects of this career is the simple act of helping people find “home”.  I don’t ever want to think of what I do as the banal trade of commodity – as though I am negotiating pork futures or esoteric investment vehicles.  Rather, in my finest hours, I know that I help people find the comfortable, well lit space in which to go about the joys (and pains) of daily life. The places where celebratory memories will be made, where neighbours will become friends, where local shops will become familiar purveyors.  Home, and family, and neighbourhood…

I’ve been extremely privileged to be part of a number of teams that have brought modern infill housing to the city. It’s been an exceptional few years – working with passionate developers, architects and designers. The success of these developments, from block to inhabit claremont to trinity bellwoods townhomes has been a testament to Torontonian’s desire to live in engaging and exciting neighbourhoods in the very core of the city. We want to live in the vibrant city core, in neighbourhoods that are thriving and growing. 2012 is full of exciting opportunities: a new home development in west queen west,…

  It has been an exceptional year for modern and unique homes in Toronto.  As the market grows, so too does the desire to grow the team. I’m presently looking people to come on board in two key areas: sales and administrative support.  These are both positions which require core capacities which are at the very heart of what we do.  Namely: – have a passion for great design and intelligent city building. – be passionate about a role in helping to promote and sell unique and modern real estate in the city. – be utterly reliable, organized, earnest and…

I shy away from the pervasive question about the “sustainability” of the Toronto housing market – as I’ve pleaded before, the complexities of the world’s financial markets (and consumer sentiment) far outstrip my liberal arts background.  Even my addiction to the Economist makes me a lousy expert in the field of “what’s going to happen when…”. But isn’t it bloody exciting? When you are barrelling along Adelaide, or wandering Queen Street East, biking across Bloor or walking the dog through Roncy, don’t you sometimes just gather in the evidence and think it’s damned exciting?  The building boom in this city…

JOB TITLE: Real Estate Office Coordinator DATE:  Commences Summer 2011 JOB SUMMARY To provide comprehensive administrative and managerial support to a growing, market-leading real estate firm in the city’s core. This dynamic position will be rewarding for those who thrive on organizational excellence, a capacity to multi-task with flair, and a desire to be part of a young and energetic team. REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS You will be reporting directly to the owner of the company, and providing assistance to 2-3 other members of the team. DUTIES & ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS To maintain an overall smooth and effective workplace operation. Duties include:…

If you are of a certain age (ahem), you may recall the histrionic of Tommy Vu – a Vietnamese poker-player who turned real estate investment guru. He had some embarrassingly vulgar infomercials in the 1980s, promoting get-rich schemes predicated on no-money-down investment properties.  To be crude, the point was his students would get rich, and the dudes would get women.  Money and sex still sells.  ”Look at all these beautiful women!” Vu would chant, with buxom bikini-clad bombshells flanking him. While there are ample rumours about Vu’s scheme landing him in jail, the simple truth is that his crass antics…

It seems that the new salvation for a business of any type is activation on social media.  My inbox is rammed with invitations to attend seminars, events, one-on-one sessions and meetings about how to leverage social media for the good of my business and focus on unique urban homes.  I love the idea of the vanguard, or being on the bleeding edge.  It’s likely why I learned to program Pascal in my early teens, or ran of buletin board off an extremely sexy Apple II computer with SIX floppy drives! But quite frankly, social media (and more specifically facebook) provided…

I wasn’t a big fan of “The Tipping Point”, Malcolm Gladwell’s treatise on the obvious. It struck me as a very long-winded essay, penned by a student desperate to stretch the subject to the required length. Now, Gladwell sold a billion books, so who’s the smart one, really? His blockbuster success has me tempted to start work on “Your Yard Will Grow: The Front Lawn” or “Knives Are Sharp – Be Careful!” to round out the immensly profitable genre of the obvious… But I will borrow his insight to suggest that modern residential architecture has now reached a defining moment:…