Housing

Toronto condo buyers choose to merge units for more space

The developer says the trend is a response to a market where end users, not investors, are now the main source of demand.

By Jamal Reid, Housing Reporter
October 30, 2026

TORONTO · A new boutique condominium in Toronto is seeing nearly half of its purchasers choose to merge multiple units to create larger homes. The trend at One Ten Avenue Road reflects a broader shift in the Greater Toronto Area condo market where end users are seeking more space. Managing Partner at Sierra Building Group Jeffrey Kansun said around 45 percent of purchasers have opted to combine units through the company's "Crafted by You" program. The 12-storey building at the edge of Yorkville and The Annex will contain just 72 private suites.

"It's been a response to the market from day one. Not everyone's wishes fit into a box, literally and figuratively," said Kansun. He said the program was developed in response to customer demand, not as a preconceived idea. In the first six months of presales, the developer did not sell a single unit smaller than 2,500 square feet. Kansun said buyers tend to be later-career homeowners looking to trade the responsibilities of a large house for a more manageable condo without sacrificing space.

A recent analysis by proptech platform Wahi found that larger condos have held their value much better than smaller ones. Between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2026, the median sale price of a one-bedroom condo in the GTA fell 14 percent to $480,000. In the same period, two-bedroom units rose 2 percent to $630,000, three-bedrooms rose 13 percent to $700,000, and units with four or more bedrooms rose 15 percent to $715,000. "In today's GTA condo market, the end user is the main source of anything resembling demand," Wahi Economist Ryan McLaughlin said in the report.

McLaughlin added that there is little appetite among buyers for smaller units, which were historically geared toward investors looking to flip or rent them. For Richard Wengle, founder of Richard Wengle Architect Inc. and the principal architect for One Ten Avenue Road, designing for the end user has long been central to his work. His firm has been working on projects that allow for customization since around 2011, starting with The Randall in Oakville. It has since worked with purchasers at projects like One Forest Hill and 89 Avenue Road to tailor layouts.

For One Ten Avenue Road, the typical wish list for combined units includes a large kitchen and dining room, generous closet and storage space, and a larger patio than is typical for a Toronto condo. Wengle calls these purchasers "right-sizers" who are usually giving up such features when moving from a house. Some requests require more inventive architectural solutions. "One purchaser is taking one floor and part of the floor below, where they'll have a separate private section that might be for kids that come to visit," said Wengle.

There are limits to the customization program. Plumbing and mechanical stacks, elevators, corridors, and structural elements are fixed, but non-load bearing walls can often be moved. The goal is to work within those constraints while maximizing views, natural light, and access to outdoor space. For now, this level of customization is easier to offer in the luxury market, where buyers have budgets for extra square footage and the associated architectural and construction management costs. Kansun hopes the principle behind the approach catches on more broadly. "A lot of developers stuck with very small, un-livable units, and the values have just plummeted because of it. And the unfortunate reality is that it makes sense, you can't really sell a unit that you can't live in," he said. "We, as an industry, will hopefully not make the same mistake twice."

With files from Storeys