10-15 years ago there were very few studios available in the downtown core, or elsewhere. These units now compete with the older, larger, further-outside-the-core apartment and housing rental units that me and all my friends lived in when we graduated in the late 90s. Rents then were nearly as high as today. If someone who can afford rent between $1,000 - $1,500 per month wants a slightly longer subway commute with more space, I presume those units are still available at competitive rents. In those circumstantances, I might choose one myself. But this apartment is at Yonge and College. If you mandate 600 sq. ft. studios then prices and rents will match. Actually, if you mandate 600 sq. ft. studios, condo building as we know it would likely come to a screeching halt.
Big Daddy, you may be tired about hearing how others lived in small apartments quite comfortably in other cities, I get tired of hearing I should buy a 2500 sq. ft house in Oakville. To each his own. There is choice in the market. If you want to live downtown, there are tradeoffs. The difference is that now there are units being built downtown, whereas 10 years ago there were very few.
I agree that less than 400 sq. ft seems a bit cramped, but people buying or renting small units in brand new condos have a choice. There are big public housing issues in this city but people renting brand new condos are not the first people we need to worry about. Some would argue that small units are the wave of the future and the more environmental choice. I won't bother with that debate, but this is supply and demand and if the investors are wrong about the demand for small units they will lose money, people will stop buying them, and developers will stop building them. There very well may be overbuilding, but that is a different debate from whether it is inhumane to live in in the centre of town in a 400 sq. ft apartment with hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, 24-hour security and an amenities floor.
