October was a relatively active month for new condominium apartment and single-family home sales and openings in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), reports the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).
There were 2,805 condominium apartment sales in low, medium and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units, a decrease of 44 per cent year-over-year, but only one per cent below the 10-year average, according to Altus Group, BILD’s official source for new home market intelligence. The month also saw 491 single-family home sales in detached, linked and semi-detached houses and townhouses, breaking even with October 2017, but 64 per cent below the 10-year average.
October 2018 saw 21 condominium apartment projects and 14 single-family home projects open, causing remaining inventory to climb to 16,283 units, comprised of 10,982 condominium units and 5,301 single-family units. Remaining inventory includes units in preconstruction projects, in projects currently under construction and those in completed projects.
“The pickup in interest from builders and home buyers that started to emerge in the GTA new home market in September gained momentum in October,” said Patricia Arsenault, Altus Group’s executive vice president, data solutions, in a press release. “October was the best month we’ve seen this year not only in terms of sales—for both single-family homes and condominium apartments—but also new project openings. And for both sales and new openings, the increases from last month were stronger than the typical seasonal pattern.”
According to David Wilkes, BILD’s president and CEO, the new home market’s gradual return to more typical sales activity is an encouraging sign. “It’s clear that when we are able to bring on more supply and give new home buyers more product to choose from, they get excited and motivated about making that choice,” he said.
The benchmark price for both condominium apartments and single-family homes fell slightly on a month-over-month basis in October. The benchmark price for condominium units was $775,537, up 14.5 per cent year-over-year. The decrease in the benchmark price of condominium apartments from September can be attributed to the smaller standard size of condominium units available for purchase. The benchmark price for single-family homes fell 8.4 per cent year-over-year to $1,115,284.
