Low-rise market suffers from low supply

GREATER TORONTO, Aug. 21, 2012 /CNW/ - New home buyers in the GTA purchased 2,266 new homes and condominiums this July, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) reported today.

According to RealNet Canada Inc., BILD's official source of new home market intelligence, the 1,415 new condominiums sold across the GTA in July are slightly more than the long-term average for that month. Meanwhile, sales of new low-rise homes have dropped to less than half of the long-term average at 851.

"The Province of Ontario's recent emphasis on intensification has resulted in a shortage of land supply, bringing inventory levels in the low-rise sector to record-low levels," explained BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey. "You can't sell what you don't have, and while the high-rise sector is there to help satisfy demand, new home buyers in the GTA end up suffering from a lack of options when it comes to housing type."

The lack of new low-rise housing supply in the market has reduced detached, semi-detached and townhome sales to just 37 per cent of total new homes sold in the GTA this July.

The RealNet New Home Price Index currently shows a price gap of more than $175,000 between high-rise and low-rise, with the average cost of a low-rise home in the GTA up to $613,090.

A statistical backgrounder on new home sales in July 2012 can be found here. Contact Andrei Zaretski at azaretski@bildgta.ca or Amy Lazar at alazar@bildgta.ca for more information.

July '12   Low Rise     High Rise     Total  
Region 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012
Durham 179 178 124 2 4 20 181 182 144
Halton 54 213 120 21 66 41 75 279 161
Peel 162 261 350 333 61 289 495 322 639
Toronto 42 73 49 662 1,065 882 704 1,138 931
York 283 473 208 220 420 183 503 893 391
GTA 720 1,198 851 1,238 1,616 1,415 1,958 2,814 2,266
Jan-July 10,213 10,829 10,102 11,418 16,089 12,906 21,631 26,918 23,008

Source: RealNet Canada Inc.

With more than 1,375 members, BILD, formed through the merger of the Greater Toronto Home Builders' Association and Urban Development Institute/Ontario, is the voice of the land development, home building and professional renovation industry in the Greater Toronto Area.  BILD is proudly affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders' Associations.

PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2012/08/21/20120821_C8523_DOC_EN_17123.pdf

SOURCE: Building Industry and Land Development Association

For further information:

Amy Lazar 
Manager, Communications                                                  
416-391-3452 or 416-543-3903                                              
alazar@bildgta.ca                                                         

Andrei Zaretski
Manager, Marketing & Media Relations
416-391-3450 or 416-843-4898
azaretski@bildgta.ca