Thunder Bay's condo market heats up

With several high-profile projects underway in the city, Thunder Bays condo market continues to expand, but one developer thinks that smaller projects are the way of the future.

Michael Kuipers, head of the Superior Lofts conversion project on South Cumberland Street, says he thinks Thunder Bay's condo market is reaching a saturation point.

He says bigger projects, like the Vue on the waterfront, could be the last for a while.

"The prices that these projects are coming in at is somewhat unprecedented in the local market, he said. So that would be somewhat of a concern, in my opinion just the capacity of the Thunder Bay market, with Thunder Bay income, to support the number that we've got coming through right now."

Two of the large condo projectsin the cityalready being constructed will contain at least 200 units each.

Meanwhile, Kuipers Superior Lofts development, which will be built from a converted sports bar, will contain only 15 residential and commercial units.

"We're really excited about the overall economic prospect of the city, and for us, when you have those kinds of prospects that are still trending upward, I think there's opportunities for us to find those unique buyers," he said.

Expanding condo market

However,Real Estate Board President Diane Erickson says she has seen a trend toward more Thunder Bay residents buying condos in the past three or four years.

"They are moving, she said. People are buying them most definitely. It's a lot more development than we've seen in the past."

Among the larger projects are developments at Prince Arthur's Landing and at the corner of Beverly and Balmoral Streets. There are currently about 1300 condominiums in Thunder Bay.

Warren Philp, a market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, said condos are usually targeted to an aging population but that's changing.

He says that with resale prices rising strongly over the last three or four years, single-family housing may be out of reach for first-time homebuyers.

So they first-time homebuyers may be looking at condos as an option," he said.