I think lofts are a better condo investment as they not as common place as the wave of small cookie-cutter glass condo units in high rises are flooding the market.
Of all of the loft condos, authentic or "hard lofts" are rarest of them all. They offer a ton of character and charm that could never be replicated in new construction. These features include ceilings of 10' or higher, in a building with history, generous open living spaces, exposed concrete or wood beams and ceilings, exposed brick walls, exposed ducts and pipes, and usually in more boutique-sized buildings. Some of the notable hard loft buildings include: Candy Factory Lofts, Merchandise Lofts, Argile Lofts, Gotham Lofts, Chocolate Factory Lofts, and Brewery Lofts, to name just a few.
There are a few hard loft developments that are currently on the market. This includes Sterling Lofts in the Junction Triangle neighbourhood, Santuary Lofts which is converted church on Dufferin near Dupont, and West40 another converted church in the Bloor West neighbourhood.
There are a few realty companies that specializes in lofts and have a pretty good directory of loft buildings in the city. It's worthwhile to do a search for those as they provide some good reference material.
I have an issue with some developers calling their condos lofts. These "soft lofts" are new construction and just have a few loft-like features such as 9' exposed concrete ceilings and some exposed ductwork thown in there so that they could call it a loft.
However there are some developers that have built some very nicely designed, quality soft lofts. A few of these developers include Context (District Lofts, Ideal Lofts, 20 Niagara, Tip Top Lofts), Freed (455 Adelaide, Seventy5 Portland, 66 Portland), Lamb Developments (Parc Lofts, Zen Lofts, Glas, East Lofts), and Cresford (Quad Lofts).
