New home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) continued to ease in June.
According to a new report from the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), the total new home sales of 1,694 units were down a notable 56% from June 2021 and 52% below the 10-year average.
The data is generated by Altus Group, BILD’s official source for new home market intelligence, and reveals a telling tale of the current climate -- one where the frenzied pandemic-inspired real estate drama is decidedly a thing of the past (at least, for now it is).
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“New home sales numbers for June reinforced the expected easing of sales from last year’s exceptionally fast pace,” said Edward Jegg, Research Manager at Altus Group. “With interest rates continuing to rise, high inflation, affordability pressures and general economic uncertainty, many buyers are adopting a wait-and-see attitude that is expected to run through at least the summer months.”
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Sales of new condominium apartments -- including units in low, medium and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses, and loft units -- with 1,519 units sold, were down 44% from June 2021 and 36% below the 10-year average. Single-family homes, including detached, linked, and semi-detached houses and townhouses (excluding stacked townhouses), accounted for just 175 units sold, down 85% from last June and 85% below the 10-year average.
While new home sales may be down, prices are up, says BILD.
The benchmark price for new condominium apartments in June was $1,189,894, which was up 12.4% over the last 12 months and the benchmark price for new single-family homes was $1,843,595, which was up 31.2% over the last 12 months.
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Total new home remaining inventory increased compared to the previous month, to 11,639 units, comprised of 9,717 condominium apartment units and 1,922 single-family lots, representing 3.5 months and 2.7 months of inventory respectively. A balanced market would have nine to 12 months of inventory.
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“While many prospective home buyers in the GTA are delaying purchasing the homes they need in the midst of economic uncertainty, our region’s fundamental challenges around housing supply remain unresolved,” said Dave Wilkes, BILD President & CEO. “Shorter-term demand-side economic conditions and inflationary pressures cool demand but increase the costs of new builds simultaneously. This will continue to impact overall supply. Now is the time for bold decisions by all levels of government to ensure we provide the housing supply and choice future generations of GTA residents will need.”
