New home sales in the Greater Toronto Area were above the 10-year average mark as of May.
The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) retrieved this data via Altus Group, which is its official source for new home market intelligence.
For new home sales, there were 3,661 units sold—five per cent above the 10-year average. Condos, including units in low, medium and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units, accounted for 2,396 new home sales, which was 10 per cent above the 10-year average.
Looking at the sales of new single-family homes, including detached, linked, and semi-detached houses and townhouses (excluding stacked townhouses), there were 1,265 units sold in May, which three per cent below the 10-year average.
“While sales of new condominium apartments were lower in May than the frenzied pace of the previous two months, they were still above the 10-year average for May as demand remains buoyant and activity settles into more sustainable levels,” said Ryan Wyse, Altus Group’s manager, analytics, data solutions. “Buyers continue to be attracted to new openings, with about half of the newly released units available for purchase before the last 10 days of May selling within the month.”
Total new home remaining inventory was 12,555 units in May. That number represents 3.3 months’ worth of inventory based on the current pace of sales, but a balanced market would have nine to 12 months of inventory. Remaining inventory includes units in pre-construction projects, in projects currently under construction, and in completed buildings.
“The low inventory levels reported in the May data underline the need for GTA municipalities to address chronic shortages of housing supply,” said Dave Wilkes, BILD president and CEO. “Municipalities need to speed up approvals of shovel-ready projects, and as we look ahead to continued population growth in the GTA, they need to evaluate all aspects of the development approvals process to ensure that the new homes the region needs are being built in a timely manner.”
The benchmark price for new condominium apartments increased in May compared to the previous month, to $1,063,973, which was up eight per cent over the last 12 months. The price for new single-family homes decreased compared to the previous month, to $1,380,491, which was up 24.4 per cent over the last 12 months.
