January 27, 2012
Building industry association reports record Toronto area condominium sales
TORONTO
Last year marked a new record for the Greater Toronto Area’s highrise sector and a shift in today’s new home purchasing decisions, says BILD.
More than 28,000 new condominium units were sold in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in 2011, more than 62 per cent of the market share of the second-best year ever for total sales with 45,926 new homes sold.
This is a noticeable shift from the year 2000 when highrise sales held a 25 per cent share, according to RealNet Canada Inc., The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD)’s official source of new home market intelligence.
“What we are seeing today is a shift towards higher-density housing as more new home purchasers seek the most affordable homes to match their lifestyle,” explained BILD Chair Paul Golini Jr.
“They are attracted by the premium location, design quality and amenities that are associated with condo living, along with the affordability they find in the high-rise market.”
The price gap between new highrise, $434,322, and low-rise, $545,372, homes currently sits at a record-high $111,000 spread.
There were over 130 new condo openings in the GTA in 2011, backed by a strong performance in the 905 markets, particularly York Region which saw highrise sales more than double over last year.
The active supply for all new housing options are at near-record lows, especially in the low-rise sector where supply is down 73 per cent to 10 years ago. The active supply available in the low-rise sector is at a record setting low of only four-months of housing inventory, according to RealNet.
“The record low supply numbers demonstrate the need for government partners to participate in providing a full range of affordable housing options for new home buyers,” said BILD’s Acting President Joe Vaccaro.
“All governments should focus on streamlining and expediting the approvals process and reviewing the fees and charges faced by the GTA’s new home sector to support complete communities and intensification. Unnecessary process delays and government-imposed costs are barriers to providing future homeowners with a full range of affordable housing options.”
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