Sales of new high-rise homes boom while low-rise inventory continues to shrink

GREATER TORONTO, June 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Sales of new high-rise homes surged in May while low-rise inventory fell to a new record low, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced today.

In May there were 3,623 new high-rise units sold, making it the second-highest month on record for high-rise sales. Only November 2011 saw more new high-rise condos sold in the GTA.

At the same time, the supply of low-rise homes available for purchase in the GTA reached a new record low of 1,985 homes. This is the first time that builders' inventory of new detached, semi-detached and townhomes in the GTA has fallen below 2,000 homes. Ten years ago in May 2006, there were 16,420 low-rise homes in builders' inventory.

Total inventory of new homes in May declined to 19,209 units, down from 29,754 in May 2006. High-rise inventory in consisted of 17,224 homes, compared to 13,334 a decade ago.

"The industry is following the Province's  Growth Plan intensification policies which emphasize high-rise development in the GTA," said BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey. "Nine out of 10 of the new homes available for sale in the GTA are high-rise and mid-rise condominiums."

The launch of two major condo projects in Vaughan and Ajax contributed to the strong high-rise sales, according to Altus Group, BILD's official source for new-home market intelligence. May high-rise sales were up 76 per cent from a year ago and nearly double the 10-year average of 1,896.

The average price of a new low-rise home in the GTA reached yet another new record high in May, when it climbed to $875,154. After surpassing the million-dollar mark for the first time in March, the average price of detached homes grew to $1,125,988 in May.

"A shortage of serviced developable land in the region is significantly reducing the supply of new low-rise homes brought to market and helping drive up prices," said Tuckey.

"Healthy levels of condo supply, combined with creative suite designs that maximize each square foot of space, have helped keep homeownership within reach for the many buyers who have been priced out of the low-rise market," he added.

The average price of a new high-rise home was $454,304, a three per cent increase from May 2015. The average price per square foot in May was $573, and up 3 per cent from last May.

Low-rise sales declined 15 per cent from May 2015 with 2,091 homes sold. High-rise sales recorded increases in all GTA regions except Halton Region, with the highest increases coming in Durham and York Regions. A complete table of May 2016 sales is available below.

May New-Home Sales by Municipality:

May '16	Low Rise			High Rise			Total
Region	2014	2015	2016	2014	2015	2016	2014	2015	2016
Durham	296	252	502	47	27	602	343	279	1,104
Halton	188	310	408	105	118	107	293	428	515
Peel	423	874	738	58	186	206	481	1,060	944
Toronto	222	157	12	1,604	1,281	1,476	1,826	1,438	1,488
York	752	855	431	234	441	1,232	986	1,296	1,663
GTA	1,881	2,448	2,091	2,048	2,053	3,623	3,929	4,501	5,714
Jan-May	7,780	9,492	9,342	8,429	8,283	10,571	16,209	17,775	19,913

Source: Altus Group

With more than 1,480 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.

These results were previously released under the REALNET® Canada name, whose independent and comprehensive data, analyses and insights on the commercial real estate investment and residential development markets is collected and compiled using a nationally consistent research process established in 1995. Going forward they will be released by Altus Group, powered by a proprietary data platform led by Altus Data Solutions Canada. This team is the formal unification of leading Canadian real estate data companies previously acquired by Altus Group, including REALNET® Canada.

A statistical backgrounder is available for viewing.

SOURCE Building Industry and Land Development Association

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