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<\/a>For all the experts on the Toronto condo market, few real estate insiders can boast being in the business for decades. But Hunter Milborne, CEO of Milborne Real Estate Inc.<\/a> has specialized in the suite life since the boom \u2013 the 1970s condo boom, that is.<\/p>\nWe chatted with the “Dean of Condos” about what the city’s first units were like, the infamous Hunter billboard and why we should look to New York City for price predictions.<\/p>\n
Enjoy!<\/p>\n
BuzzBuzzHome: Do you want to start from the beginning and fill me in on how you got your start in the real estate business?<\/strong><\/p>\n Hunter Milborne: We were lucky enough to decide to specialize in marketing and selling condominium developments in the mid-1970s in the GTA, when there were pretty only much four condos \u2013 Harbour Square and Hazelton Lanes which were two of ours and then Palace Pier and 150 Heath.<\/p>\n Harbour Square and Palace Pier were both about $60 a square foot, on average, and the expensive ones were about $100 a square foot on average. That\u2019s surprising for young people to hear today but that\u2019s what happens to prices in a generation.<\/p>\n If you think today about the top-tier market, if you think of the suites at Yonge and Bloor, you\u2019re looking at $1,500 a square feet. Some sales are even over $2,000.<\/p>\n BBH: What were the condo suites like back then?<\/strong><\/p>\n HB: They were a lot bigger, but the finishes weren\u2019t nearly as nice. They were more like rental building finishes.<\/p>\n BBH: We actually just put together a timeline<\/a> of the condo\u2019s history in Canada. It was really interesting to look at old ads too. In Toronto, what did people think of the condos as they were first coming onto the market?<\/strong><\/p>\n HB: People forget that condo legislation was enacted in British Columbia in 1966 and in Ontario in 1967. So for the first ten years, it was still kind of in its infancy. It wasn\u2019t until the mid-70s that it kind of took off.<\/p>\n But there was still apprehension. People said, \u2018How can you buy this little piece of the sky? How can you own it without the land? Who\u2019s ever going to buy it from me?\u2019 There were a lot of questions that you don\u2019t even think about today. There was a lot of skepticism because it was a relatively new concept then. However, now it\u2019s definitely mainstream with thousands of resales and new sales every year.<\/p>\n BBH: I heard you lived in a condo with your family in the 1980s. Do you think families are warming up to condo living now?<\/strong><\/p>\n HM: Not as much. I think they have in a city like New York, in Manhattan, where there are lots and lots of people who live in apartments. But I think here there\u2019s still a desire for people with kids to have ground-oriented housing like a house or a townhouse. in Toronto. It\u2019s going to change slowly, I think, but for now, it\u2019s still mainly single-guy, single-gal, young couple, empty-nesters and investors buying. Those are your main purchaser groups.<\/p>\n BBH: What are some trends in condos you\u2019ve noticed over the last few years?<\/strong><\/p>\n HM: I think in about 2007, 2008, you started to see the emergence of these super luxury brands like the Shangri La<\/a>, the Ritz<\/a>, the Four Seasons<\/a>. In about the last six or so years, there weren\u2019t a lot of homes sold for a $1,000 a square foot or in the millions. It\u2019s a fairly recent phenomenon.<\/p>\n