GTA New Condo Sales Set Record in February

GREATER TORONTO, March 22, 2011 – There were 2,202 new condominium suites sold in the Greater Toronto Area in February, marking the first time ever that sales have exceeded the 2,000 unit threshold in that particular month, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) revealed today.
According to RealNet Canada Inc., BILD’s official source of new home market intelligence, the 2,202 units sold represents the highest February total ever, 36 per cent better than 2010, and 26 per cent higher than the previous high-water mark set in February 2002, when 1,774 new condos were sold. Condo sales accounted for more than six out of every ten new home sales (61 per cent) in the GTA in February.
BILD President and CEO Stephen Dupuis commented that the strength of the new condo market in the GTA in February is a continuance of the factors that have propelled it thus far: the generally positive economic climate, particularly continued low interest rates; relative affordability (compared with low-rise homes); superlative building and suite designs; and great value in terms of building amenities and suite finishes. 
The month of February was the second-worst on record for low-rise sales, better only than the global recession year of 2009, as higher prices caused by inventory shortages continue to compromise affordability. Dupuis stated that, “The relative un-affordability of low-rise product has caused a huge market shift towards high-rise condominiums, which is fine to a point, but only if steps are being taken to create a more balanced market over the mid- to long-term.”www.bildgta.ca.