New single-family home sales soar 136%, but activity remains below long-term average
By Newinhomes on Aug 23, 2019
The Greater Toronto Area’s new home market took a breather in July, but activity was still much stronger than the same month a year ago.
The Building Industry and Land Development Association's monthly new home report announced there were 566 new single-family home sales in July 2019, which is a 136% year-over-year increase, according to Altus Group. While it was a huge improvement from 2018, activity was still 29% lower than the 10-year average.
The new condo market remained hot with 2,297 sales in July, up 22% from a year ago and 42% above the 10-year average. Total sales for the first seven months of the year amounted to 20,268, which is 45% higher than the same period in 2018, but still 9% below the 10-year average.
“Typically, buyers take a bit of a vacation from the new condo apartment market in July. This year was no different, although the decline in sales was less pronounced than usual, resulting in the second strongest July on record,” says Patricia Arsenault, Altus Group’s Executive Vice President, Data Solutions. “While few new projects launched in July, sales at projects opened in June were brisk.”
The average price of a new condo unit in the GTA continued to soar, jumping 8.3% year-over-year to $838,824. The average price of a new single-family home continued to moderate, dropping 4.5% to $1,091,727.
“The price gap between single-family homes and condos continues to shrink, leaving new home buyers with a lack of choice,” says David Wilkes, BILD President & CEO. “We must provide more ‘missing middle’ type development that can support transit in established neighbourhoods. More ‘gentle density’ housing in the form of mid-rise buildings, condos with street level retail, and stacked townhouses is needed to give consumers more choice.”
With strong sales and fewer launches, new home inventory fell slightly. As of the end of July, there were 12,873 new condo units and 4,409 new single-family homes available across the GTA.
There are many new condo and single-family communities launching this fall across the GTA. We’re eager to see whether the strong activity continues through the upcoming season with a healthy inventory boost.
