New home sales up slightly from December: BILD

TORONTO — GTA new home sales were soft in January, as expected, down slightly from January 2023 and up slightly from December as buyers remained tentative, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) reported recently.

According to Altus Group, BILD’s official source for new home market intelligence, there were 578 new home sales in January, which was down three per cent from January 2023 and 68 per cent below the 10-year average.

It also found:

• Condominium apartments, including units in low, medium and highrise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units, accounted for 233 units sold in January, down 44 per cent from January 2023 and 60 per cent below the 10-year average.
• There were 345 single-family home sales in January, up 92 per cent from January 2023 and 78 per cent below the 10-year average.
• Total new home remaining inventory decreased compared to the previous month, to 19,829 units, including 16,677 condominium apartment units and 3,152 single-family dwellings. That represents a combined inventory level of 10.5 months, based on average sales for the last 12 months, which remains one of the highest inventory levels for new homes seen in the last decade.
• Benchmark prices decreased in January for single-family homes and increased for condominium apartments compared to the previous month. The benchmark price for new condominium apartments was $1,052,474, which was down seven per cent over the last 12 months. The benchmark price for new single-family homes was $1,571,853, down nine per cent over the last 12 months.

“Given interest rates and the expectation of moves by the Bank of Canada later this year, January new home sales were as expected with prospective new home buyers remaining on the sidelines,” said Justin Sherwood, senior vice-president of communications and stakeholder relations at BILD, in a statement. “With last week’s report, if you extract housing related costs, we are basically at the two per cent rate for inflation. We anticipate that market activity will pick up in the spring with potential rate changes on the horizon. The present inventory levels provide a great degree of selection and choice for new homebuyers.”