Urbanation Releases its Q3-2013 Condo Report
By Lucas on Nov 07, 2013
Urbanation, the leading source of information regarding Toronto’s vibrant condo market, just released its Q3-2013 market results.
There were just 3,049 new condos sold in Q3, a decrease of 8% compared to Q3-2012. With the amount of launches scheduled for Q4, Urbanation is forecasting that we will see approximately 13,000 new condo sales by the end of 2013.
In 2012, there was a total of 17,997 new condo sales, and in 2011 there were 28,190. Averaging out the totals for the last three years puts the sales levels back on track with the historical trend.
“The softer numbers this year should be viewed in the context of the exceptional strength that preceded them. While the recovery towards more normal volumes has been gradual, the industry continues to make the necessary adjustments required to maintain stability in the market, such as reducing inventory build-up, taking a careful approach to new openings and offering more competitive prices” said Shaun Hildebrand, Urbanation’s Senior Vice President.
There were only 11 projects launched in Q3, totalling 2,557 units. Aside from the recessionary period in 2009, this is the lowest amount of new units for a Q3 in 10 years. The numbers for Q3 are low basically across the board, but downtown Toronto saw a 22% increase in sales.
The average sold index price went up 2% annually, as expected, to $540/square foot. The average unsold index price went down compared to last year by 1.5% to $565/square foot.
The resale market performed well with 4,207 sales, an increase of 23% compared to Q3-2012. The average resale index price went up 1.5% compared to Q3-2012 to $413/square foot ( or about $366,000 for Q3’s average 887 square foot unit).
The word of the year has been “stable,” or “stabilizing,” or “stabilization,” or any other form. Toronto’s housing market had some high-selling years, and when it looked like 2013 wasn’t going to match the record years, people predicted disaster. Well, here we are near the end of 2013 and shovels are still hitting the ground and sales are still holding steady.
We’re looking forward to seeing how the condo market fares for the rest of the year!
