New home sales in the GTA remained historically low in May, following a dramatic drop to 1990-level activity in April. May marked the eighth consecutive month of record all-time lows in what the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) is calling "the worst downturn of new home sales in the region on record."
In total, last month saw 345 sales, down 64% year over year and 87% below the 10-year average. Looking at the 10-year average, a typical May in recent years would have seen around 2,404 more sales, for comparison. Of the sales recorded this May, just 137 were condo units, down 74% annually, and 208 were single-family homes, down 53% year over year.
BILD
BILD's May report comes shortly after the latest data on housing starts was released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which reported that housing starts in Toronto fell 22% year over year in May — a direct result of historically low demand in the region.
“May 2025 new home sales across the GTA remained at rock bottom levels,” said Edward Jegg, Research Manager at Altus Group in BILD's report. “Market conditions definitely are in the buyer’s favour right now; they just need the confidence to move ahead with their purchase.”
The lack of confidence Jegg points to is being felt across both new home and resale markets as economic uncertainty resulting from frenetic US trade policy not only threatens to drive up inflation and unemployment, but is also delaying further interest rate cuts as the Bank of Canada opts to err on the side of caution amid tariff curveballs.
At the same time, the cost to build remains high and homeownership remains out of reach for many living in the GTA.
“The current cost to build crisis is real, it’s here now, and it will have very negative impacts on the economy and municipalities of the GTA," says Justin Sherwood, Senior Vice President of Communications, Research, and Stakeholder Relations at BILD. "All three levels of government must take urgent action and partner with the industry to help lower housing costs and ensure much-needed housing is provided to those who want to call the GTA home. This includes lowering their levels of taxation on new homes through changes to GST/HST, development charges, and other added costs to secure the future supply of new homes in the region.”
Another recent report from Altus Group for BILD and the Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA) outlines that, without government intervention, the GTA is on track to see housing starts fall by more than 60% by 2027, residential construction jobs to be cut by almost 50% — constituting some 41,000 jobs lost — and a drop in construction investment of more than $10 billion.
BILD
With sales continuing to slide in May, new home remaining inventory edged up month over month from 21,363 units in April to 21,571 units, comprised of 16,384 condo units and 5,187 single-family homes. This puts new home inventory at 17 months of stock, based on sales numbers from the last year.
Meanwhile, benchmark prices for both condos and single-family homes continued to fall year over year in May, with condos posting a 2.2% decline to $1,021,339 and single-family homes seeing a 6.6% drop to $1,505,539.
BILD
