Economic, Projects

GTA condo sales off to a strong start in January

DCN-JOC NEWS SERVICES February 28, 2022

TORONTO-The Greater Toronto Area new-home market experienced a very busy January, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced recently.

There were 2,853 total new-home sales in January, up 18 per cent from January 2021 and 47 per cent above the 10-year average, according to Altus Group statistics. It was the highest number of new homes sold in January in 19 years.

A record 2,274 new condominium apartment units, including units in low, medium and highrise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units, were sold in January. This was 113 per cent above the 10-year average and more than 40 per cent higher than the previous high in 2017.

Sales of new single-family homes, including detached, linked and semi-detached houses and townhouses (excluding stacked townhouses), with 579 units sold, were down 33 per cent from the 10-year average.

With nine new condominium apartment projects opening in January, condominium apartment remaining inventory increased slightly compared to the previous month, to 8,333 units, but still represented only 2.9 months of inventory based on average sales for the past 12 months. A balanced market would have nine to 12 months of inventory. Condominium apartment inventories have fallen to within 1,000 units of the recent lows of 2017 and are half the level compared to the 2011-2016 period, stated the BILD report.

Remaining inventory for single-family homes reached a record low of 550 units in January, about 10 per cent of the level from 2019, before the start of the pandemic, and far below the more than 15,000 units on average for the 2000-2009 period. Remaining inventory includes units in preconstruction.

Benchmark pricing eased somewhat in January for both condominium apartments and single-family homes, BILD reported. The benchmark price for new condominium apartments was just over $1.1 million, which was up 12.7 per cent over the last 12 months, and the benchmark price for new single-family homes was $1.7 million which was up 30 per cent over the last 12 months.