GTA new home sales strengthen

July 2, 2019

May saw new home sales continue to strengthen in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), according to the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).
A total of 4,794 new homes sold—up 94 per cent from May 2018 and up 27 per cent from the 10-year average, according to Altus Group, BILD’s official source for new home market data.
There were 1,004 new single-family homes sold in May—including detached, linked and semi-detached houses and townhouses—up 211 per cent from last May but still 32 per cent below the 10-year average.
May was the seventh month in a row that new single-family home sales have increased year-over-year.
Sales of new condo apartments, with 3,790 units sold, were up 76 per cent from May 2018 and 64 per cent above the 10-year average.
“It was the highest number of total new home sales for May since 2002,” said Patricia Arsenault, Altus Group’s executive vice-president, data solutions. “New condo apartment sales were brisk among the near-record number of units launched in April. At the same time, new single-family home sales broke the 1,000-unit threshold for the first time in two years.”
Remaining inventory dipped slightly in May to 12,537 condo apartment units and 4,574 single-family homes. Remaining inventory includes units in pre-construction projects, in projects currently under construction and in completed buildings.
“The sales numbers of the last few months show that the underlying demand for new homes, both condo apartments and single-family homes, was there all along,” said David Wilkes, BILD president and CEO.
The benchmark price of new condominium apartments increased slightly from last month to $779,687—up 2.8 per cent over the last 12 months. But the benchmark price of new single-family homes decreased slightly from last month to $1,109,501—down 3 per cent over the last 12 months.