Trends: what women want in a condo

[shootingstar]

Talks about walkable,safe communities. At least for women choosing to live in a condo. The article below focuses on buying trends in Canada's biggest cities. pop. over 1 million each. I didn't realize the market change was so different now. 30 years ago, it was seen as nearly daring for a single young woman to buy her own home.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...rticle7442398/

What women want – in a condo Add to ...
DAVE McGINN
The Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Jan. 16 2013, 5:44 PM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Jan. 16 2013, 6:02 PM EST


When Charise Bauman bought her condominium in Toronto she wanted it to be in an established, walkable downtown neighbourhood, have a concierge service and, among other criteria, have good lighting. “Lighting is huge,” Bauman says. The 25-year-old hairdresser has a few rules about interior design, including this one: “If you’re going to put in a walk-in closet, there better be a light in there.”

taken note, and are responding by designing buildings and individual units to suit their tastes and interests, whether it’s improving the quality of lighting, or installing security cameras in parking garages, or creating floor plans that maximize storage space.
“It’s the fastest growing niche right now,” says Louis Conrad Migneault, vice-president of marketing at DevMcGill, a condo development company based in Montreal. “It changes the whole way we present and conceive projects.”

Women represent approximately one-third of condo buyers in Montreal, Migneault says. At Tridel, the largest condo developer in Toronto, single women account for one-third of all new sales, says Jim Ritchie, senior vice present of sales and marketing.

The numbers are even higher in some individual projects. In Vancouver, when MC2 condo, located approximately 20 minutes from downtown on the Canada Line, went on sale last year, 61 per cent of the first-time home buyers were female, says Tracie McTavish, president of Rennie Marketing Systems, a condominium sales marketing company.
The trend is borne out nationally: A Royal Bank of Canada poll released last May found that among Canadians planning to purchase a home in the next two years, women were much more likely – 49 per cent compared to 35 per cent – to be first-time buyers than men.

Even when a couple is in the market for a home, marketers and developers assume women are making the buying decisions. “We would never build a display suite as a man cave,” McTavish says.

Women will opt for a better location with less square footage over up-and- coming neighbourhoods that offer larger units, Migneault says. Established neighbourhoods not only feel safer, they have more amenities – cafés, grocery stores, shops – within walking distance, another priority for prospective female buyers.

Security is also a key consideration – which means more attention is paid to concierge services, the lighting in and around buildings and the design of parking garages, Ritchie says.
Megan Close, a 28-year-old communications manager in Vancouver, says security was top of mind when she bought her condo in November. She passed on a handful of units in the Kitsilano neighbourhood because there were on the ground floor. “That didn’t make me feel safe,” Close says.

Buildings with little closet space but storage in the basement were also nixed. “You don’t want to put your shoes in the basement,” Close says.
“Walk-in closets are a selling point automatically,” says Eric Skicki, a real estate agent who specializes in condos in Mississauga, west of Toronto. To target the female market, one condo project under way in Mississauga has designed suites with a washroom that is accessible through the walk-in closet, Skicki says.

Developers are also rethinking amenities like gyms: Relegated to windowless back rooms in older buildings, new condos are featuring workout spaces on upper floors, away from lobby traffic and with windows overlooking the city. “Women are all about the experience at the gym,” Migneault says. A Mississauga condo offers Zumba classes in its gym, a strong sign of catering to the female market, Skicki says.

Aesthetically, developers have also had to offer “much more design choice in the suites,” Ritchie says – for instance, several different options for kitchen counter tops – and showcase a consistent design aesthetic throughout the unit.

With women becoming such a dominant force in the condo market, catering to their choices – whether it’s location, closet space, the gym or lighting – is now paramount.
DESIGNING CITIES WITH SINGLES IN MIND

The rise in the number of solo dwellers in Canada is “very much at the top of mind” for urban planners, says Brian Jackson, Vancouver’s general manager of planning and development. More than a quarter of Canadian homes – 27.6 per cent – have just one person living in them, according to census figures released last fall. Compare that to 1971, when only 13.4 per cent of Canadian households were home to someone going solo.

That trend has left urban planners, developers, architects and others grappling with a crucial and multifaceted question: How do you build a city for singles?

SPACES FOR CONVERSATION
Solo living has helped bring us the concept of the vertical suburbs, where you live in close proximity to your neighbours but don’t know who they are. Last fall, research conducted by the Vancouver Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to improving communities, found that social isolation was the biggest concern for residents of metro Vancouver. The city has since launched a task force to tackle the problem.

At least one piece of the puzzle might be something simple. “Benches, believe it or not, in the research I’ve been doing, make a huge difference in cities by providing a space for people to stop in a public setting,” says councillor Andrea Reimer, who spearheaded the creation of the task force.
Vancouver architect Bing Thom has written about the trend of social isolation. Cities need gathering places that foster what he calls “accidental collisions,” where strangers can interact.
“To me, it’s very important to now create spaces for conversations,” he says.
The more whimsy there is in such places – he cites an area
of Robson Street recently kitted out with bean-bag-style seats
as part of a temporary public lounge that Reimer helped create – the more likely it is those places will encourage connection by functioning as social ice breakers
.
AVOID SINGLES GHETTOS
As the number of people living alone rises, so too does the fear of creating single ghettos in cities.
“That is a huge issue,” says Rollin Stanley, Calgary’s general manager of planning, development and assessment.
“If you’re building too many buildings with just one type of unit, you don’t get that continuum of life cycle, and it’s really, really important,” Stanley says.
Housing developments need
to offer what Stanley calls a “continuum of housing type,” where, for example, there are one-bedroom units for singles, two-bedrooms for couples, and three-bedroom units for families. Such a continuum allows people to put down roots in a neighbourhood and also helps to avoid ghettoizing one particular group of people.

WALK THIS WAY
Creating neighbourhoods that are walkable is key to adapting to the rise of people living alone, says Jennifer Keesmaat, Toronto’s chief planner.
“We know that younger people and singles are less likely to be interested in owning a car,” which means there is an extra emphasis on creating walkability from home to work, she says.
Walkable neighbourhoods, ones where there are a wide array of amenities all within walking distance that create a vibrant public space, have a range of benefits. They encourage a sense of community because you’re more likely to see your neighbours, and make neighbourhoods safer because more people are on the street.
“Those places where we’ve created really clear walkable communities also have become the most desired places by developers to create density,” she says, citing Toronto’s Liberty Village, Church and Wellesley and Yonge and St. Clair neighbourhoods as examples.

GO TO THE DOGS
Putting jobs, people and transit in close proximity isn’t a guarantee for a high quality public realm, says Simon O’Byrne, head of urban planning at Stantec in Edmonton.
Another initiative that helps?
“One of the easiest things to do is to put in dog infrastructure,” O’Byrne says. “If you dramatically increase the infrastructure to support a dog population, then you foster a lot more high degree of social interaction, which then builds community, which then gets people feeling connected to the place they live in,” he says.
There are now more dogs than children in North America, and it is safe to assume that many of those pooches are owned by people who live alone. That needs to be considered when it comes to the design of cities, O’Byrne says. “We’ll put in parks for kids, but do we put in parks for dogs?”

[goldfinch]

Interesting about the social infrastructure, especially for dogs. I travel alone in the winter, this year to unfamiliar places. Having my dog with me gives me an easy way to meet new people and chat with them. Rv'ers often have dogs.

[Crankin]

I actually find it disturbing that there are more dogs than kids. Not that I think everyone should have kids (in fact, I think quite the opposite), but as someone who is not an animal lover (I hate to say that here), it is hard for me to understand how having a dog is the same as a human child. Intellectually, I understand how a pet meets our needs, it's just personally, I don't equate the two as the same.
No flames, please. Of course, people with common interests will want a place to meet together. Just like cyclists at coffee shops! The rest of the article is interesting, but I think they went on a bit too much about walk in closets!

[shootingstar]

Intellectually, I understand how a pet meets our needs, it's just personally, I don't equate the two as the same.
No flames, please.

I do as well, Crankin. Dogs do requires care, etc. But quite different from children. Dogs can be controlled far more than ...children. At least dogs are better than owning ...guns if one wants non-harmful protection. (Sorry, reading all the gun debates elsewhere just is wearying.)

I never had a walk-in closet in my life, until in the latest place where I live now. I just wanted big closets, that's all.

[goldfinch]

I actually find it disturbing that there are more dogs than kids. Not that I think everyone should have kids (in fact, I think quite the opposite), but as someone who is not an animal lover (I hate to say that here), it is hard for me to understand how having a dog is the same as a human child. Intellectually, I understand how a pet meets our needs, it's just personally, I don't equate the two as the same.
No flames, please. Of course, people with common interests will want a place to meet together. Just like cyclists at coffee shops! The rest of the article is interesting, but I think they went on a bit too much about walk in closets!

I sure understand. I am not a cat person and I just don't get how people bond with their cats. But, but, dogs are different!

I certainly am bonded with my 16 year old dog, but she is not my child and the relationship isn't like that at all, even if I sometimes call her my baby.

[lph]

Even though I'm very much an animal person, I agree with you, Crankin, that having a dog or cat is very different from having a child. To me, that is. Although there are certain similarities.
But more dogs than children doesn't mean that people are equating dogs to children, or keeping dogs instead of having children? All I read into it is that it's popular to have dogs, and maybe some are postponing kids more than before.

[GLC1968]

But more dogs than children doesn't mean that people are equating dogs to children, or keeping dogs instead of having children? All I read into it is that it's popular to have dogs, and maybe some are postponing kids more than before.

That was my thought too. I am a huge dog lover (and to be perfectly honest, not a fan of children), but I certainly don't equate my 3 dogs with children at all. In fact, I literally cringed every time my brother or his wife referred to themselves as their new puppy's mommy or daddy.

What I tend to have issue with (and this has come to light recently for us as dog owners in a brand new condo community) is when people disregard our rights as dog owners because 'they are just dogs' and not children. There tends to be a lot of jumping to conclusions from opposing sides, so I agree that it is nice to be in a place where there are others who understand your perspective. Though I will say that I have MUCH greater annoyance with people who are irresponsible dog owners than I do with irresponsible cyclists!

[shootingstar]

That was my thought too. I am a huge dog lover (and to be perfectly honest, not a fan of children), but I certainly don't equate my 3 dogs with children at all. In fact, I literally cringed every time my brother or his wife referred to themselves as their new puppy's mommy or daddy.

What I tend to have issue with (and this has come to light recently for us as dog owners in a brand new condo community) is when people disregard our rights as dog owners because 'they are just dogs' and not children. There tends to be a lot of jumping to conclusions from opposing sides, so I agree that it is nice to be in a place where there are others who understand your perspective. Though I will say that I have MUCH greater annoyance with people who are irresponsible dog owners than I do with irresponsible cyclists!

This is still related to the original topic of what things some women look for when buying a home in a particular area.... from a safety perspective, for certain I appreciate dogs in the neighbourhood than...people owning guns (and thinking they can shoot straight when under duress/stress/emergency situations). There, I've said it.

And I appreciate the solo person walking or jogging with their dog by themselvs, particularily when it's dark outside ---- as long as they short-leash their dog when I ride by.

[Crankin]

Yes, I know my comment was off topic for this thread. GLC, I have a friend who constantly refers to herself as her dog's "mommy." Of course, she still refers to herself as her 22 y/o son's mommy. Sigh. You are right, there are irresponsible people of all kinds. I mostly blame owners for poor pet behavior (my above friend was dismissed from the animal behaviorist, as she wouldn't do what the person was trying to teach her). We had a cat for 14 years and she grew on me, but I chose not to get another when she died.

[OakLeaf]

I'm late to this thread, but what I saw in the comment about dogs is how they foster social interaction and thus, build community - and they do so among more people, and in a different way, than children ever can.

Obviously there are people who isolate their kids and themselves, and people who isolate their pets and themselves. But walking a dog, or going to a dog park, puts you in public with people of all ages, family structures and backgrounds. You see, and likely meet and talk to, your neighbors, whether or not they have dogs (or kids) of their own. Taking your kids to play group or participating in their school activities only lets you interact with parents of children of similar ages - who may not be your neighbors at all.

[NbyNW]

I just think it's interesting that the planner who made the comment about dogs is based in Edmonton, and having lived there I would take his point of view with a grain of salt. Edmonton has been developing its light rail, but it is still a very car-oriented city. I think it will be some time before it develops the critical mass and density for it to realize some of the things that are working in other North American cities regarding the proximity of jobs, housing and amenities. It is especially hard to densify cities built on flat lands.

Edmonton has an incredible amount of green space set aside as off-leash dog parks. I don't think there's anything else like it in North America. But I'm not sure how much they foster social interaction. Two winters there of walking our dog day in and day out, and we definitely took advantage of those parks ... we found people to be quite antisocial. I think it's the extreme cold. Park usage was definitely way down in winter, and we frequented some of the larger, more well-known parks. Our neighborhood also seemed to empty out in winter. We're talking more than 6 months of the year here. But even when the weather was nice it was hard to really connect with people beyond a superficial greeting. My impression was that people were just very set in their existing social groups and not very open to newcomers.

[shootingstar]

I'm not a dog owner, so can't comment on dogs and socialization with neighbours/others.

As soon as the term "densify" is mentioned, some people used to lots of land around them to separate themselves from others, they just turn off their ears. I honestly do believe that many people in North America, haven't quite experienced at all, what it means to live in neighbourhoods where it's close to transit, walking to shops and restaurants. If one has been brought up in a household that was car dependent, then that's what alot of people base their preferred housing choices.

And if people don't bike as transportation, they don't even know what to look for in cycling infrastructure in their own community area.

I was shocked to learn that some places in our area are priced over $800,000...and the only way I can see why: it's part of a bigger trend that in our city which is mirroring Vancouver, Toronto...if you want a big condo, townhouse with a park greenbelt, waterfront view.

[smilingcat]

dogs as a social ice breaker depends on the kind of dog you have and what you are like as a person. Are you approachable or do you look like you don't want to be bothered?

Having dogs out of control doesn't do it. a barking dog doesn't... Common sense here, if your dog looks happy, wagging tail and you don't own dog breed with reputation, yes it can be a ice breaker. Pitbull, dobbies, Akita, chows, German shepherd are less of an ice breaker. toy sized and smaller dogs do better. Golden we have are good for that and even our Pyrenees mix attracted people. The pure bred Great Pyrenees I had to return was so big and people didn't know what he was stayed away. They would ask what he was from across the street. And next question was always "Is he friendly?" His sheer size made him a great dog to have as a deterrent from attack.

We do feel safer with our two dogs in the house. A dog with deep loud WOOF. This wouldn't stop a determined burglar though. An experienced burglar would throw a big T-bone steak to the dog. That is what a burglar behind the bar said when he was interviewed. He said a trained dog would ignore the meat. Don't have false sense of security just because you have a dog.

[tulip]

No mention of affordability. Interesting, because if its not affordable, the rest doesn't matter.

[PamNY]

I actually find it disturbing that there are more dogs than kids. Not that I think everyone should have kids (in fact, I think quite the opposite), but as someone who is not an animal lover (I hate to say that here), it is hard for me to understand how having a dog is the same as a human child. Intellectually, I understand how a pet meets our needs, it's just personally, I don't equate the two as the same.
No flames, please. Of course, people with common interests will want a place to meet together. Just like cyclists at coffee shops! The rest of the article is interesting, but I think they went on a bit too much about walk in closets!

The article didn't say that having a dog was the same as having a human child. The author used the "more dogs than children" statistic simply to make the point that a lot of people have dogs.

The phenomenon of dogs creating a sense of community is very real, but you might not understand it if you haven't experienced it. When you walk a dog in a pedestrian city as I do, you talk to a lot of people. In my neighborhood, most of the dog people know each other. I talk to the cops at the Federal Reserve Bank nearly every day -- they love my dog, and the dog can go to the wine store (where they have treats). Dogs are welcome at the hardware store. Before 9/11 when the fire house became a tourist attraction and they started keeping the doors shut, we stopped by the fire house all the time for a Milk Bone. Tourists know a person with a dog probably lives in the neighborhood, so I get asked for directions a lot.

In my building, most of the children love dogs, so I get the know the children and their parents (remember we're on the elevator together). When a dog dies, the concierge lets everyone know. I got a cake and sympathy cards when my older dog died, and I always leave a card for neighbors who have lost a dog.

Taken all together, these experiences do enhance a sense of community.

It isn't a matter of people with common interests wanting a place to meet at all. It's just what happens when you are walking on the street instead of traveling by car -- and the article did focus on walkable communities.