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Originally Posted by Crawford
One thing that's odd about the GTA is that the fancy areas often have the least construction, and the less desirable areas often have the most "luxury condos". Probably trans-national differences in zoning and regulatory framework.
For example, Yonge north of the 401 is kinda dumpy. But there's an orgy of gigantic towers everywhere, topped only by downtown Toronto. And most look pretty expensive and upscale. Yonge south of the 401 is very affluent, but looks basically the same as 25 years ago, when I was visiting nearby relatives as a kid. There are numerous SFH teardowns, but the essential character is the same. North York looks like some alien spacecraft touched down.
If Toronto were in the U.S., Yonge north of the 401 would still be dumpy strip malls and worn bungalows, and any construction would be concentrated to the south. Toronto's growth is much more efficient, but it's hard to understand.
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The established SFH home neighbourhoods are nearly impossible to upzone. Good luck going up against Lawrence Park, Rosedale, Forest Hill, etc. trying to develop a 40 story condo between Davenport and the 401, with the obvious exception of established high-density nodes like Yonge and Eglinton.
There are some cultural differences for sure, but I don't see wealthy Canadians or Americans varying drastically in their desire to keep high-density development away from their neighbourhoods. I think the primary difference is that the wealthy Torontonians never fled to the suburbs en mass. As such their protectionism creates a much more stark visual contrast with swaths of low-rise, undevelopable areas so close to the core. In many U.S. cities, you could build pretty continuously outwards from the core without running into such large areas of wealthy homeowners opposing you.
In terms of North York, I wouldn't say the condos are typically that high end. The area was also designated for high density development before the surrounding neighbourhoods became as pricey as they are today. In addition, the area tends to attract more East Asian immigrants who obviously are culturally familiar with high-rise living.