Condominiums starting to catch on in Sudbury
Baby boomers drawn to low-maintenance appeal of condo life, contractor says
Sudbury's housing market is continuing to change both in terms of price and property type — and real estate agents are predicting more condominiums in the city's future.
Local contractor Darren Champaigne is betting on that trend. The builder buys old condominiums, renovates them and then resells the units at an increased price. The process is commonly known as "flipping a property."
"[If I wanted] to make minimum $70,000 per flip … that would take no more than a month-and-a half to two-months work," he said.
Champaigne observed it's the baby boomer population that is drawn to the low-maintenance appeal of condo life.
Vacant lot condominiums
As the popularity of condominiums continues to rise in Sudbury, there's a new condo concept coming to town. They're called vacant lot condominiums, and Lively will soon be home to the first one in northeastern Ontario.
"You basically are buying a lot in a condominium site," said Gwen Price, a sales representative with Royal Lepage North Heritage Realty. "You build the house of your design, but the street itself is a private road. With the condominium corporation, we'd be able to decide if they wanted it as a gated community."
Price listed 16 vacant lots in Lively at the beginning of August. The area is called The Villas at Sixth Avenue and it's located adjacent to the Sixth Avenue Golf and Country Club.
A local real estate agent said the Sudbury market has only recently begun to embrace the condo trend.
"When I started in 1988, there was very little in the way of condominiums in Sudbury," said Gwen Price, a sales representative with Royal Lepage North Heritage Realty.
"It was a harder sell in those days to try to get people to accept the idea … that you're buying an apartment."
Price said it has been the influx of condos in cities like Toronto and Ottawa that has led to its popularity.
She noted that, while the cost of a condo in Sudbury is still high, the price will likely go down over the next few years as the market becomes more saturated.