Following an "unusually busy" August, September's new single-family home sales in the GTA continued to soar; 2,334 units were sold, according to the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).
"It was the strongest September for new single-family home sales since 2003," the association says.
The month's total new home remaining inventory -- which includes units in preconstruction projects, in projects currently under construction, and in completed buildings -- was 14,403 units, changing little from August's 14,331. September’s new supply was, apparently, quickly absorbed in the market.
“The level of market demand for new housing has remained strong, with year-to-date new home sales up from last year,” said Ryan Wyse, Altus Group’s Manager, Analytics, Data Solutions. “The single-family home market was very active in September, with particularly strong activity seen at newly launched detached and townhouse communities. To date this year, demand for new single-family homes has outpaced supply.”
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Meanwhile, condominium apartments, including units in low, medium and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units, made up 2,603 of new home sales. The numbers show a 15% uptick from September of last year, and a 33% rise over the 10-year average.
“While demand for both high-rise and low-rise homes was strong in September, the clear insight of the last few months is how quickly consumer demand can evolve,” said David Wilkes, BILD President and CEO. “We need to make sure that policy and regulations are flexible and adaptable enough to accommodate market demands, from increased demand for low-rise homes to condo units that reflect current market conditions both in size and built form."
Where both single-family homes and condominium apartments are concerned, benchmark prices rose in September. For new single-family homes, the price was $1,179,249 -- up 9.1% over the last 12 months. And, for condo apartments, the benchmark price amounted to $1,016,550, up 20.9% over the last year.
"Recent changes made by the provincial government bring an increased market focus, but translating that to the market at the municipal level will take time," Wilkes said.
"This is why BILD is encouraging municipalities to start now with the implementation of these new provincial directions.”
