{"id":13585,"date":"2017-08-02T01:00:28","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T05:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/?p=13585"},"modified":"2020-02-17T20:46:13","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T01:46:13","slug":"what-is-a-micro-condo-and-should-you-buy-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/what-is-a-micro-condo-and-should-you-buy-one\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Micro-Condo \u2013 and Should You Buy One?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Micro-condos have become a popular buzzword, snatching headlines nationwide and promising to reshape cities and our lifestyles as urbanites rush to embrace compact living.<\/p>\n

What is a Micro-Condo?<\/h2>\n

In dense Canadian cities with tight markets, such as condos in Toronto<\/a> or Vancouver, buildings containing these tiny units – which are typically between 450 and 500 square feet – have been cropping up everywhere in recent years. In Toronto, a development called Smart House<\/a> boasts units as small as 289 square feet, and the Janion Building in Victoria, B.C. has apartments even smaller than that, measuring in at 250 square feet.<\/p>\n

However, some realtors say that the hype about micro-condos is overblown.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of my experience with these units is with buyers who look at them and decide that they don\u2019t want to go down that road,\u201d says David Florida, a Toronto-based realtor with Royal LePage Signature Realty.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce they have to put their mind around where they\u2019re going to put furniture and how they\u2019re going to eat their dinner and where things are going to be placed, a lot of them start to re-evaluate their options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Small Living For\u00a0Young Singles<\/h2>\n

Those who do buy micro-condos tend to be young, single executive types who want to live right in the downtown core, says Florida – \u201cthe young Bay Street type.\u201d<\/p>\n

Typically, they sell the unit a few years later, after they meet someone and decide to shack up, says Florida. After all, the units are typically too small to accommodate a couple, much less a family.<\/p>\n

Because of their small size, micro condos require owners to be creative in organizing their living space. Some residents enjoy the challenge of downsizing and finding ways to make the most efficient use of their limited square footage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey enjoy getting interesting furniture to go in them, they enjoy the different convertible stuff you can get,\u201d says Florida.<\/p>\n

Micro-Condo Mortgage Challenges<\/h2>\n

However, anyone considering buying a micro condo should be prepared to get creative when it comes to financing, as well. That\u2019s because often times the big banks, which tend to be conservative when it comes to taking on risk, don\u2019t want to finance these types of units. Some of the big banks have even gone on record saying that they won\u2019t provide loans for units below 600 or 700 square feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone defaults on their payments, the bank needs to know that they can liquidate the property quickly and easily,\u201d says Florida.<\/p>\n

Micro-condos are considered to be somewhat of a niche market, and the banks are concerned about how easy it will be to re-sell these types of units in a pinch, says Florida.<\/p>\n

For buyers, that means they\u2019ll have to turn to an alternate source of funding to get a mortgage on a micr-ounit. Monoline lenders – mortgage lenders that secure their loans with mortgage insurance – are often willing to finance these properties.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, Florida says micro condos aren\u2019t going anywhere. But he doesn\u2019t anticipate that they will take over the city\u2019s real estate market – particularly given the recent emphasis on family-sized apartments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Micro-condos have become a popular buzzword, snatching headlines nationwide and promising to reshape cities and our lifestyles as urbanites rush to embrace compact living. What is a Micro-Condo? In dense Canadian cities with tight markets, such as condos in Toronto or Vancouver, buildings containing these tiny units – which are typically between 450 and 500 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":13587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buying-a-home","category-condominiums"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is a Micro-Condo \u2013 and Should You Buy One? | Zoocasa Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is a micro-condo - and is the tiny living lifestyle right for you? 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