Hey there, I used to work in the condo industry in Toronto. If you had asked me 5-10 years ago if buying a condo was the right decision, I would have said yes. But now, absolutely not.

What changed is the respect the builders have for the people buying and living in their buildings. 5-10 years ago, condos were a bit more rare, so a construction company had to try really hard to make their condo appealing. They worked slower and the architecture was much more livable. Spacious units, sensible parking and elevators, and catchy amenities like pools and fitness rooms.

Now, they pump out condos like a sweatshop. Instead of 8 units on a floor, there are now 12. Instead of a pool, you get a gym, and instead of a fitness room, you get a yoga studio. Elevators that serve more than 30 floors are too expensive, so those 50+ storey condos need 2 elevators; one to take you from 1-30, and another to take you to from 30-50. Every single new condo in the last 5 years is in litigation with the developer due to issues with the building. Contractors like plumbers and electricians know the game now too, so every bill from a contractor will be $999 (regardless of work done) because anything over $1000 requires board approval. Without a strong property management team, I expect half of the condos will be bankrupt within a decade.

If you want to buy a condo, buy one in a building that is more than 10 years old. They will have sorted out the engineering problems by then and their budgets will be inline.

Heh, Things I've heard about recently in Toronto new-build condos:

1) Mailboxes are in the basement, so you can't check on your way in.

2) Each unit having a loud spaceship/heat pump instead of one central one. Heat pump is leased, not owned by the unit, so you're paying $45/month in perpetuity. Maintenance not included.

3) Submetering of electricity, where a quarter to half of your bill is in the delivery charge from a random power company (times x units of the building, instead of one for the whole building and incl. it in condo fees)

4) New condo board isn't allowed to fix/improve various promised things until the builder fixes it. Builder waits for it to time-out for 3 years and then the Board has to arbitrate/mediate it with the Builder. Meanwhile, condo board can't touch it.

5) Builders signing exclusive contracts with telecoms, so you can't get service from anyone else.

6) Locks not keyed right, so residents' keys can open mechanical rooms/rooftop access

7) Gym on the second floor, so residents below feel like they're living in a bowling alley

Well, thank you for your perspective - I guess I won't be buying any property any time soon - or at least not until I do extensive homework. Thing is - as bad as the situation may look like now compared to 5-10 years ago - I'm just thinking of how much higher real estate prices will be 5-10 years from now. So if I want to reap any future benefits now looks to be the time. I just feel it would be really unlikely to get deals as good as we had a decade ago. I'd like for the bubble to just pop a little bit before I start thinking about purchasing a condo seriously though.