New high-rise condo sales reach new heights in October

GREATER TORONTO, Nov. 22 /CNW/ - New home builders sold 3,159 new condo suites as well as 1,376 low-rise homes in a very active month of October in the GTA new home market, the Building Industry & Land Development Association (BILD), reported today.

With an astonishing seven out of every ten new homes sold in October being a high-rise condominium suite, high-rise condo sales were up 27 per cent over October 2009, and are running 52.6 per cent ahead of the January-October 2009 period. On a year-to-date basis, more than half (56 per cent) of the 30,914 housing units sold have been high-rise condos.

According to RealNet Canada Inc., BILD's official source of new home market data, the total of 4,535 new homes and condos sold in October amounts to the best October result since 2000 and the second best month ever for high-rise sales after June 2007.

"Although the City of Toronto continues to account for the bulk of all condo sales (76 per cent in October), the biggest spikes in activity were in the Regions of Peel (particularly Mississauga) and York (particularly Markham and Vaughan), which were up 164 and 138 per cent respectively," said BILD President and CEO Stephen Dupuis. "The high-rise housing craze has started to spread to the suburbs and it's a trend which will continue to grow."

While the high-rise housing market surged in October, sales of new low-rise (single-detached, semi-detached and townhomes) product declined by 32 per cent compared with October 2009, and is   running 11.6 per cent behind the pace set in January-October 2009. With both low- and high-rise product taken into account, total new home sales are running 15.5 per cent of 2009 on a year-to-date basis.

Dupuis attributed the strength of the high-rise condominium market to the $75,000 differential between the RealNet high-rise price index, which sits at $424,327, and the low-rise price index which rose through the  half million dollar price threshold for the first time ever, hitting $500,532 in October. "The high-cost of low-rise living is a reflection of the low levels of inventory available," said Dupuis.

October '10	Low Rise			High Rise			Total
Region	2009	2010	% Change	2009	2010	% Change	2009	2010	%Change
Durham	291	165	-43.3%	9	10	11.1%	300	175	-41.7%
Halton	433	307	-29.1%	144	202	40.3%	577	509	-11.8%
Peel	597	214	-64.2%	45	119	164.4%	642	333	-48.1%
Toronto	120	117	-2.5%	2,109	2,409	14.2%	2,229	2,526	13.3%
York	582	573	-1.5%	176	419	138.1%	758	992	30.9%
GTA	2,023	1,376	-32.0%	2,483	3,159	27.2%	4,506	4,535	0.6%
Jan-Oct	15,487	13,689	-11.6%	11,286	17,225	52.6%	26,773	30,914	15.5%

Source:  RealNet Canada Inc.

With more than 1,300 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.

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