September GTA new condo sales on pace with 10 year average

GREATER TORONTO, Oct. 26, 2017 /CNW/ - The market for new construction homes in the GTA picked up in September, primarily driven by sales of multi-family homes, condo apartments in high-rise and mid-rise buildings and stacked townhomes, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced today.

There were 2,101 new homes sold in September, according to Altus Group, BILD's official source for new-home market intelligence. About 83 percent of them (1,749 units) were multi-family homes, and only 17 percent (352) were low-rise single-family homes such as detached and semi-detached houses and townhomes. Condo sales for September were on pace with the 10 year average of 1,810, while low-rise sales were far below the comparable 10 year average of 1,173.

As of the end of September, 33,871 new homes have been sold in the GTA in 2017, 80 percent of them condo apartments in high-rise and mid-rise buildings and stacked townhomes.

BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey said, "the GTA new home market is being driven by the multi-family homes. Year-to-date, there have only been 6,718 new single-family low-rise homes sold, which is a level that we have not seen in more than a decade. This is largely due to government intensification policy and the challenges low-rise builders face in bringing product to market, such as a lack of serviced and approved land."

While supply of new housing increased again in September and was back above 10,000 units, it is still well below what is considered a healthy level. Supply of new housing is typically measured by the number of new homes available for purchase in builders' inventories at the end of the month. At the end of September, there were 9,389 multi-family homes and 2,607 single-family homes available in the GTA.

"The recent increase in single-family inventory was the result of more new project launches as well as additional product released at existing sites, both are which are typically up in September," said Patricia Arsenault, Altus Group's Executive Vice President of Research Consulting Services. "This increased inventory is setting the stage for some improvement in single-family new home sales this fall. But the launch frenzy that had characterized the market over the past year is over- buyers now feel that they can take a bit of time to shop around, without the fear of losing out."

Prices of available homes in September were down for single-family low-rise homes and up for multi-family homes. The average for available new single-family homes was $1,204,829 down from $1,289,298 in August, but still 21 percent above last year's average price of $992,391. The average price for available new detached homes was $1,608,909 and the average for available townhomes was $1,019,470.

Meanwhile the average price of available condo apartments in high-rise and mid-rise buildings and stacked townhomes was $661,188 in September, up from August's $644,327, and 36 percent more than a year ago. The average price per square foot was $789 and the average unit size was 838 square feet.

September New-Home Sales by Municipality:
September'17	High-Rise			Low-Rise			Total
Region	2017	2016	2015	2017	2016	2015	2017	2016	2015
Durham	13	77	18	84	307	158	97	384	176
Halton	321	159	123	134	86	91	455	245	214
Peel	404	355	56	70	216	414	474	571	460
Toronto	954	2028	868	7	43	31	961	2071	899
York	57	163	181	57	643	463	114	806	644
GTA	1749	2782	1246	352	1295	1157	2101	4077	2403

Source: Altus Group

With more than 1,450 members, BILD 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.

SOURCE Building Industry and Land Development Association

For additional information or to schedule an interview, contact John Provenzano, BILD Communications and Marketing Manager at [email protected], [phone] or Aasim Hashim, BILD Marketing and Communications Coordinator at [email protected], [phone].

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