Blazingcatfur

Toronto’s police chief says he’s “disappointed” following the unveiling of Mayor Oliva Chow’s budget draft, which does not include the police service’s recommended operating budget for 2024, a move he says will significantly impact public safety.

On Thursday, Chow unveiled her version of the city’s 2024 budget, which left out the $20 million boost that the Toronto Police Service had previously requested. Instead, it maintains city staff’s recommendation of a $7.4 million increase, a move that police Chief Myron Demkiw called disappointing.

There goes the Tim’s budget!

Faltering pre-construction condo sales and a record high inventory of unsold suites across the Greater Toronto Area could spell doom for Ontario’s planned housing boom, a new data study shows.

“We’re moving in the opposite direction from where we should be going,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation, a real estate consulting firm that released the results of its 2023 fourth-quarter condo market survey on Thursday.

“The majority of new housing in GTA is in the form of condo sales. If condo sales slow, it will slow down new development for the region.”

That’s a lot of unsold condos.

In my immediate area running between Kipling & Islington along or just off  Dundas/Bloor there are about 9 or 10 builds one of which is a city “geared to income” rental project and another a privately operated seniors building. Only about 5 are being actively worked. 

Further west on Dundas there are projects slated for future development including a 6 tower condo build at Cloverdale Mall and one site laughably described as an “Exciting rental opportunity.” If abandoned malls and car dealerships are your thing then that’s the rental location for you!

Is this dearth of condo sales solely due to interest rates or is this slump due to the Chowtown effect?

Perhaps people have decided they don’t want to live in an overpriced under serviced falling down dying city.