GTA new home market quiet in August: BILD

TORONTO — It was a typically quiet August in the GTA new home market this year, says the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).

According to Altus Group, BILD’s official source for new home market intelligence, there were 1,400 new home sales in August, up 19 per cent from August 2018 but still 23 per cent below the 10-year average.

Condominium apartments in low, medium and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units accounted for 961 new home sales, down four per cent from August 2018 and down 12 per cent from the 10-year average, indicates a release issued by Altus Group.

“August was the first month since March that new condo apartment sales didn’t exceed their 2018 level,” said Patricia Arsenault, Altus Group’s executive vice-president, data solutions, in a statement. “Typically very few new projects open in August and this year there were actually none — this played a role in the slightly lower number of new condo sales compared to August last year.”

There was also a decrease in inventory in August compared to the previous month, to 16,529 units. The remaining inventory consists of units in preconstruction projects, projects currently under construction and in completed buildings.

Single-family home sales, with 439 detached, linked and semi-detached houses and townhouses (excluding stacked townhouses) sold, were up 143 per cent from last August but still down 39 per cent from the 10-year average, the release states.

The benchmark price of new single-family homes in August was $1,083,358, down 4.1 per cent over the last 12 months, whereas the benchmark price of new condominium apartments was $840,799, up 7.2 per cent over the last 12 months.

“It is encouraging to see sales of single-family homes increase as the market returns to more typical levels,” said BILD President and CEO David Wilkes, in a statement. “However, we still have concerns that until fundamental adjustments are made to align supply with demand in the GTA housing market, we will continue to have affordability challenges.”