In September, the market for new construction homes in the GTA sped up, largely driven by sales of multi-family homes, condo apartments in high-rise and mid-rise buildings and stacked townhomes, according to the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).
There were 2,101 new homes sold in September in the GTA, reports Altus Group, which provides BILD with new-home market intelligence. Approximately 83 per cent of these homes (1,749 units) were multi-family homes, and only 17 per cent (352) were low-rise single-family homes, such as detached and semi-detached houses and townhomes. Condo sales for the month were on par with the 10-year average of 1,810, while low-rise home sales fell below the 10-year average of 1,173.
By the end of September, there were a total of 33,871 new homes sold in the GTA in 2017, with condominium apartments in high-rise and mid-rise buildings and stacked townhomes accounting for 80 per cent of those sales.
“The GTA new home market is being driven by multi-family homes. Year-to-date, there have only been 6,718 new single-family low-rise homes sold, which is a level that we have not seen in more than a decade,” said Bryan Tuckey, BILD president and CEO, in a press release. “This is largely due to government intensification policy and the challenges low-rise builders face in bringing product to market, such as a lack of serviced and approved land.”
While the supply of new housing increased in September to top 10,000 units, it is still far below what is considered a healthy level. Supply of new housing is typically measured by the number of new homes available for purchase at the end of the month. At the end of September, the supply of multi-family homes sat at 9,389 units, while 2,607 single-family homes were available for sale in the GTA.
“The recent increase in single-family inventory was the result of more new project launches as well as additional product released at existing sites, both are which are typically up in September,” added Patricia Arsenault, Altus Group’s executive vice president of Research Consulting Services. “This increased inventory is setting the stage for some improvement in single-family new home sales this fall. But the launch frenzy that had characterized the market over the past year is over – buyers now feel that they can take a bit of time to shop around, without the fear of losing out.”
Prices of available homes in September fell for single-family low-rise homes, but rose for multi-family homes. The average price for available new single-family homes was $1,204,829, down from August’s levels, but still 21 per cent higher than September 2016’s average price of $992,391. The average price for available new detached homes was $1,608,909, and the average price of a townhome was $1,019,470.
For condominium apartments in high-rise and mid-rise buildings and stacked townhomes, the average price climbed to $661,188 in September, compared to August’s $644,327. This level is 36 per cent higher than September 2016 levels. The average price per square foot was $789, and the average unit size was 838 square feet.
