Record year for the GTA new homes market

TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2017 /CNW/ - In the GTA new homes market, 2016 was a record setting year for low inventory, high prices and high-rise condo sales, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced today.

There were 29,186 new high-rise units sold across the GTA in 2016, more than in any previous year on record and 30 per cent more than in 2015 according to Altus Group, BILD's official source for new-home market intelligence. Sales were up in every region in the GTA, particular in Durham where sales were more than double those of 2015.

Overall in 2016 there were 47,161 new homes sold in the GTA, 62 per cent were high-rise units and 38 per cent (17,975 units) were low-rise homes.

2002 was the year that saw the most new homes ever sold in the GTA. That year there were 53,660 units sold of which 72 per cent were low-rise and 28 per cent were high-rise.

"The decline in low-rise sales in 2016 was due to the lack of product available to purchase, not softer demand," said Patricia Arsenault, Executive Vice President of Research Consulting Services at Altus Group. "The fact that new product is being quickly absorbed, despite rising prices, shows there is continued buyer interest in purchasing new ground-oriented homes in the GTA."

The number of new homes available to buyers in builders' inventory across the GTA reached an unprecedented new low at the end of last month, while prices for all types of new homes in the GTA broke records.

At the end of December 2016 there were 13,670 new homes available for purchase, less than half of the 30,400 homes that were available in builders' inventories a decade ago. New high-rise supply reached a 10-year low, falling to 11,792 units last month. Meanwhile low-rise supply was 1,878 homes, of which only 742 were single-family detached homes.

Ten years ago there were 12,871 high-rise units available to purchase and 17,529 low-rise units of which 11,602 were single-family detached homes.

"We have a shortage of housing supply in the GTA that is approaching crisis levels," said BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey. "Housing is selling as quickly as the industry can bring it to market and the lack of developable land that is serviced with infrastructure, excessive red tape, out-of-date zoning and NIMBYism are hindering our ability to bring more to the market."

The lack of supply is forcing prices up across the board. The average price of available new low-rise homes, which includes detached and semi-detached houses and townhomes, was $995,116 in December 2016, and for new single-family detached homes in the GTA the average was $1,264,604. The average price of new detached homes increased by more than $273,000 in the past 12 months.

Prices for new high-rise homes also reached an all-time high in 2016. In December the average price of condo units in the GTA was $507,128. In December 2006 it was $321,353. The average size of a condo suite in the GTA grew to 826 square feet last month while the average price per square foot increased to $614. A year ago the average price per square foot was $584 while the size of an average suite was 775 square feet.

December New-Home Sales by Municipality:

December '16	Low Rise			High Rise			Total
Region	2014	2015	2016	2014	2015	2016	2014	2015	2016
Durham	153	94	75	37	45	47	190	139	122
Halton	53	84	50	75	43	48	128	127	98
Peel	215	197	119	59	67	89	274	264	208
Toronto	82	17	30	678	1,040	1,408	760	1,057	1,438
York	520	226	278	88	152	344	608	378	622
GTA	1,023	618	552	937	1,347	1,936	1,960	1,965	2,488
Jan-Dec	18,005	19,552	17,975	21,908	22,484	29,186	39,913	42,036	47,161

Source: Altus Group

With more than 1,450 members, BILD, formed through the merger of the Greater Toronto Home Builders' Association and Urban Development Institute/Ontario, is the voice of the land development, home building and professional renovation industry in the Greater Toronto Area.  BILD is proudly affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders' Associations.

A statistical backgrounder is available for viewing.

SOURCE Building Industry and Land Development Association

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