Amid an unforgiving market and high home prices, a GTA developer recently reported a successful launch day in which they sold 70% of the pre-construction townhomes in one of their Burlington developments.
The 4.5-acre North Shore development is a partially-constructed, 153-unit condominium complex set to include 36 stacked townhouses at 484 Plains Road East on the Burlington waterfront. Once complete, a second phase will see a similar development with a mid-rise condominium and stacked townhomes, totalling 400 units across both phases.
The developer, National Homes, is close to topping off the condominium and has yet to begin construction on the townhomes but decided to launch them for sale earlier this week in hope of seizing the excitement of the October 23 rate cut — a move that paid off.
In the past, selling 70% of the units in a pre-construction would have been par for the course, but increasingly, high interest rates, coupled with lofty home prices, have meant pre-sale numbers often come in below ideal levels, sometimes jeopardizing projects' financing.
President and CEO of National Homes Jason Pantalone says their recent success indicates a positive turn for the market. "We haven't seen line-ups like this in years," Pantalone tells STOREYS. "It was encouraging to see a more balanced market.”
At the same time, Pantalone says National Homes was able to leverage its decades of experience developing and selling homes in the GTA to garner the sales number it did. "Over the 30 years, we’ve seen the down markets many times, and we had to utilize some of our old strategies in our toolbox to get through current times," he says.
Some of those strategies included a strong marketing campaign and outreach to their robust database of past customers and followers, but location and pricing play a huge role in bringing people in, Pantalone says.
"The condominium market is definitely at its low point in terms of velocity, but in the townhouse market, we're seeing sales starting to pick up and we're getting momentum in certain markets where product is priced accordingly," Pantalone says. The condos, which were launched in May 2023, and also sold successfully, currently start at $500,000, and the townhomes come in at $799,000. "I think the price point gave us a lot of traction," he adds.
The other major pull with this development is location. "We’re in an urban location. When people think Burlington they think suburbia right? But we're five minutes from the water and right near the GO station and a lot of amenities like restaurants, shopping centres, and retailers," says Pantalone. "So it's really more of an urban setting, and I think that’s what drew attention to the project."
North Shore Towns/National Homes
North Shore Towns/National Homes
North Shore Towns/National Homes
North Shore Towns/National Homes
North Shore Towns/National Homes
But while customers were no doubt attracted by the sparkling waters of Lake Ontario, attainable pricing, and serendipitous interest rate drop, Pantalone says his marketing and sales teams sealed the deal.
“We really did a lot of follow-up in terms of nurturing the leads," he says. "We had over 1,000 registrants that inquired, and our sales team was diligent in following up and nurturing those relationships and really engaging them and ensuring that they came out in order to have a successful launch."
And it doesn't hurt that the townhomes themselves are well-designed. They've got nine-ft ceilings, wide plank seven-inch laminate flooring, private outdoor spaces, and sleek designs. Plus, there's a community park on site.
Pantalone says the buyer demographics included a lot of of younger families and down-sizers, due to the relative affordability of the units. “It was a good mix," he says. "We’re fortunate and we’re happy, so hopefully we can continue with the momentum."
