Despite soaring prices, new condos remain the most affordable option
By Newinhomes on Jul 26, 2018
The Building Industry and Land Development Association released its new home statistics for June 2018, reporting a strong focus on new condos in the Greater Toronto Area, despite rising prices.
There were 2,500 new home sales in June 2018, and a whopping 2,079 were condo units, according to BILD’s trusted source for new home market intelligence, Altus Group. This number of new condo sales is 61% lower than the record high of 5,290 in June 2017, and is 17% below the 10-year average.
The 421 new single-family home sales is 19% lower than the same period last year and 71% lower than the 10-year average. In the City of Toronto there was just one new single-family home sold in the entire month!
Though the average price of a new single-family home fell 9.4% to $1,132,957, new condos remain the most affordable option for homebuyers.
The average price of a new condo in the GTA in June 2018 was $774,554, which is a year-over-year increase of 23.5%. At this rate, we are getting to a point where the most affordable option will eventually no longer be affordable either.
“The industry and buyers continue to focus on the relatively more affordable condominium apartment sector,” says Patricia Arsenault, Altus Group’s Executive Vice-President, Research Consulting Services, in a release. “Fourteen new condominium apartment projects were launched in the GTA last month, the second highest number for June yet recorded by Altus Group, and buyers snapped up almost half of the new units by month-end. In a typical June, closer to one-third of new units are sold by month-end.”
As of the end of June 2018, there was an increase in new home supply! There were 10,335 new condo units available across the GTA, and 4,848 new single-family homes.
With the municipal election approaching, BILD is running the Build for Growth campaign, encouraging you and everyone else residing in the GTA to contact their candidates to ensure housing affordability is a priority.
BILD believes that increasing supply, limiting new municipal taxes and fees, and cutting red tape slowing the development process can make a significant difference in housing prices.
“The relative strength of condo apartment sales is an indication of the state of the market,” says David Wilkes, BILD President and CEO. “The cost of new homes in the GTA, both condos and single-family homes, is affected by government regulation and red tape that slows down the building of new supply, and by government fees, taxes and charges, which can account for almost a quarter of the cost of a new home.”
