In 2015, a total of 20,753 new condominium units were sold across the Greater Toronto Area, according to a report by Urbanation Inc., topping 2014 levels by 82 sales. Over the past five years, annual sales averaged 19,587 units, including a record-high 25,992 sales in 2011 and a 10-year low of 13,818 sales in 2013. Several new development openings in Q4 2015 helped drive sales up by 18 per cent year-over-year to 6,366 units in that quarter.

Sales in existing developments that were launched one year or more ago reached a record high 9,541 units (equal to an absorption rate of 54 per cent), while sales of units still under construction grew 19 per cent year-over-year to 5,416 units. Condominium units in new projects that were launched in 2015 were 59 per cent sold by the end of the year. Sales activity was helped by a 23 per cent jump in sales in the 905 region to 4,871 units.

There were 19,702 condominium units completed in 2015, down from 21,133 units in 2014. The percentage of units sold upon completion was steady at 94 per cent in 2015, while standing builder-held inventory at the end of the year fell to 1,427 units from 1,606 the previous year on increased sales for completed units. Total unsold inventory among all projects in the GTA stayed level at 17,741 units, equal to 10 months of supply, indicating a balanced market. Of the total 108,012 units within active projects on the market, a record 84 per cent were sold in 2015.

The index selling price for projects in development increased by three per cent year-over-year to $579 per square foot in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, prices of unsold units also increased three per cent to an average of $598 per square foot.

There were 20,709 condo apartment resales in the GTA during 2015, which is a 16 per cent increase over 2014. During the second half of the year, a seller’s market for resale units emerged, causing price appreciation to grow to 6.5 per cent in the fourth quarter on a per-square-foot basis. Rental activity within the condo sector reached a high of 27,164 units in 2015.

“The market for new condos in the GTA is carrying a lot of momentum into 2016,” said Urbanation’s senior vice president Shaun Hildebrand in a press release. “Interest among investors and demand from end-user buyers is heating up, which we expect will lead to higher sales and increased price growth this year.”