Average price of a new detached home in the GTA nears $2 million
By Lucas on Jun 23, 2017
The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) released its new home sales figures for May 2017, announcing that the province's Fair Housing Plan has done little to cool the new home market in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
There were 3,902 new home sales in the GTA last month, 3,357 of which were condo sales. That’s actually down slightly from last year, but condo sales are still 61% above the 10-year average. There were only 545 new low-rise sales, which is 75% lower than last year and 68% below the 10-year average. While sales were low last month, the year-to-date sales have hit a record high at 22,814, and 75% of these sales are of condo units.
“For the new homes market, the Province’s fair housing plan has had little real effect,” says BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey. “Prices continue to increase and supply, especially for single-family low-rise homes, continues to be low. The price acceleration in the condo portion of the market is especially worrisome since it not only represents the lion’s share of new housing in the GTA, it’s also making it difficult for condos to remain the affordable option.”
While new low-rise supply remains low, there was an uptick in available inventory last month. In total, there were 10,820 new homes available in the GTA, 1,414 of which were low-rise and 9,406 were condo units. In March 2017, there were only 932 new low-rise homes available.
“The combination of lower sales, some increase in inventory and slower price growth in May compared to April was the first hint we have had of some hesitation among potential buyers of single-family homes,” says Patricia Arsenault, Altus Group’s Executive Vice President of Research Consulting Services. “But in the condominium apartment sector, it was still full steam ahead in May. Sales were steady and prices posted strong increases, meaning the increase in available inventory in May was not due to wavering demand but rather the burst in new condo project openings. Over 4,900 new units were brought to the market, almost twice as many as in the previous month, and many were in projects that launched near month end.”
The average price of a new condo unit in the GTA went up 33% to $604,683. The average unit size was 814 square feet, and the average price per square foot shot up to $743. Just a year ago, the average price per square foot was $573.
In the new low-rise market, the average price soared 40% to $1,222,699 and for the first time, the average price of a new townhome in the GTA exceeded $1 million. The average asking price for a new detached home in the GTA hit $1,942,316, and the average for semis came in at $919,231.
You read that right. The average price of a new detached home neared $2 million and the average of a condo was more than $600,000. We’re aware of some pretty big openings coming up this summer and fall, so we’re interested to see what the rest of 2017 holds!
