Off the charts: How Canada’s real-estate market defied expectations in the COVID-19 pandemic
Home prices have come roaring back, but saving for a down payment takes longer. The East Coast is hot, but condos and rental apartments are not. This is what a COVID-19 housing boom looks like Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
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Illustration by Matthew Billington
When the pandemic hit last March and lockdowns started, many assumed the economic downturn would hammer real estate. People would be thrown out of work, default on their mortgage payments, maybe even lose their homes.
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Before launching Forest Hill Private Residences in 2020, Altree Developments conducted several years’ worth of market research – a routine step for condo developers. But Altree president and CEO Zev Mandelbaum spent even longer doing something he calls “parent research.”
Mandelbaum started paying close attention to the property predilections of his parents and their friends a little more than a decade ago. That’s when his father, Lanterra Developments co-founder Mark Mandelbaum, ended up designing a unit for himself in one of his own towers – the 32-storey One Bedford. He and his wife had decided to sell their detached home and couldn’t find what they wanted elsewhere.