Price of low-rise homes more than doubled in last decade

GREATER TORONTO, July 22, 2016 /CNW/ - The average price of new low-rise homes in the GTA hit $887,543 in June, more than double the June 2006 average of $393,398, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced today.

In the past 12 months alone, average prices for new low-rise homes, which includes detached, semi-detached and townhomes, grew by more than $100,000. In June 2015 the average price was $785,800.

Prices of new high-rise homes also reached record levels. The average price of high-rise homes in the GTA in June was $469,516, up six per cent from the previous year and 1.5 times more than the $314,370 average in June 2006. The price per square foot in June 2016 was $587, also a new record.

"The price of low-rise homes has grown exponentially as supply has dropped," said Michelle Noble, BILD Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

The number of new homes available for purchase in the GTA continues to decline. In June, the supply of new homes in builders' inventory fell to 18,427. Low-rise supply was a major factor in the decline as ground-related inventory hit a near record low of 2,064 homes. High-rise supply also decreased, falling to 16,363 units.

The supply situation was very different a decade ago. There were 29,968 new homes in builders' inventory in June 2006, of which 16,560 were low-rise and 13,408 were high-rise homes.  

The story for detached homes is the most dramatic. On June 30 there were 1,002 single detached homes in the GTA, down from 10,823 a decade ago. The average price of a detached home in June 2016 was $1,061,388, compared to $442,420 in June 2006.

"Supply of new low-rise homes has declined dramatically in the last 10 years due to government policy," Noble said. "Demand for ground-related homes is far outpacing supply, with some projects selling out just hours after launching."

There were 4,166 new homes and condominiums sold in the GTA in June, down 22 per cent from the previous year. Low-rise sales declined 31 per cent to 1,671 homes while high-rise sales fell 14 per cent to 2,492. A detailed breakdown of new-home sales in June is available below.

June New-Home Sales by Municipality:

June '16	Low Rise			High Rise			Total
Region	2014	2015	2016	2014	2015	2016	2014	2015	2016
Durham	307	378	625	46	36	31	353	414	656
Halton	99	149	156	177	118	243	276	267	399
Peel	598	779	413	66	98	432	664	877	845
Toronto	187	42	72	2,146	2,428	1,612	2,333	2,470	1,684
York	891	1,069	408	258	226	174	1,149	1,295	582
GTA	2,082	2,417	1,674	2,693	2,906	2,492	4,775	5,323	4,166
Jan-June	9,865	11,912	11,132	11,121	11,185	13,121	20,986	23,097	24,253

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.

These results were previously released under the REALNET® Canada name, whose independent and comprehensive data, analyses and insights on the commercial real estate investment and residential development markets is collected and compiled using a nationally consistent research process established in 1995. Going forward they will be released by Altus Group, powered by a proprietary data platform led by Altus Data Solutions Canada. This team is the formal unification of leading Canadian real estate data companies previously acquired by Altus Group, including REALNET® Canada.

A statistical backgrounder is available for viewing.

SOURCE Building Industry and Land Development Association

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