GTA new home market slow in April

TORONTO — The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) new home market saw record low new home sales numbers in April, reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 emergency on the economy, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) reported May 27.

It was the lowest April for total new home sales, as well as single-family and condominium apartment sales, since Altus Group started tracking in 2000. Altus Group is BILD’s official source for new home market intelligence.

A total of 771 new homes were sold in April, down 80 per cent from April 2019 and 78 per cent below the 10-year average, a release states, adding single-family homes, including detached, linked and semi-detached houses and townhouses (excluding stacked townhouses), accounted for 301 new home sales, down 62 per cent from last April and 79 per cent below the 10-year average.

The data also shows:

• Sales of new condominium apartments, including units in low, medium and highrise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units, at 470 units sold, were down 85 per cent from April 2019 and 78 per cent below the 10-year average.
• Total new home remaining inventory decreased slightly from the previous month, to 13,851 units. Remaining inventory includes units in preconstruction projects, projects currently under construction and in completed buildings.
• The benchmark prices for both new condominium apartments and new single-family homes increased slightly in April compared to the previous month.
• The benchmark price for new condo apartments was $984,369, which was up 29.8 per cent over the last 12 months, and the benchmark price for new single-family homes was just over $1.1 million, which was down 0.2 per cent over the last 12 months.

“The plunge in new home sales in April came as both builders and potential buyers stepped back from the heated activity of the first quarter, adjusting to the new reality ushered in by COVID-19,” said Patricia Arsenault, Altus Group’s executive vice-president of data solutions, in a statement. “Most planned new project launches were put on hold, sales programs for existing projects moved to virtual or by-appointment-only models, and short-term homebuying plans were disrupted by employment uncertainty, as well as the challenges of stay-at-home routines.”

“As we expected, the April new home sales numbers reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the GTA economy,” said David Wilkes, BILD president and CEO. “The good news is, the residential and commercial building and development industry, along with the professional renovations industry, is positioned to play a significant role in the recovery of our region and Ontario. In the coming weeks, we’ll be putting forward recommendations for all three levels of government that can accelerate the healing of our economy.”