New homes sales and prices back on track in February

TORONTO, March 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Sales and prices of new homes in the GTA in February are back on track after a slow January, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced today.

There were 3,629 new homes and condominiums sold across the GTA in February according to Altus Group, BILD's official source for new-home market intelligence. This is a 21 per cent increase from February 2015 and 36 per cent above the 10-year average.

"There were several new projects launched toward the end of January, which resulted in above-average February sales," said BILD president and CEO Bryan Tuckey.

Sales last month marked the second highest February in the last decade, just shy of the record-setting 3,650 sales in 2011.

Low-rise sales in February, which refers to detached, semi-detached and townhomes, recorded an increase of 22 per cent from February 2015 with 1,780 homes sold. This is 25 per cent above the 10-year average for February.

Sales of high-rise condominiums increased 20 per cent from February 2015 with 1,849 homes sold. This is 48 per cent above the 10-year average and the second-highest February in the last decade.

A complete table of February sales broken down by region is available below.

Meanwhile inventory of new homes continues to decline in both low-rise and high-rise markets.

There were 4,017 new low-rise homes available for sale at the end of February, the lowest in the last decade and less than three months of inventory needed to supply the demand for ground-related housing in the GTA.

Supply of high-rise inventory declined slightly to 19,105.

"The GTA faces a constrained amount of serviced land designated for development, which has reduced the amount of new low-rise projects coming to market," Tuckey said. "As demand continues to outpace supply, prices in the low-rise market have increased to record-breaking levels."

The average price of a low-rise home in the GTA reached a new record high of $831,212 in February, up 13 per cent in the last 12 months. Meanwhile the average price of a detached home increased to $998,812, growing 16 per cent since February 2015.

The average price of a high-rise home increased 3 per cent over the last year to $453,999. On a price per square foot basis, the high-rise market showed a 5 per cent increase to $580.

The price gap between low-rise and high-rise homes in the GTA reached a new record high of $377,213. The gap has increased 560 per cent in the last five years. In February 2011 it was $57,220.

February New-Home Sales by Municipality:

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

For further information: For additional information or to schedule an interview, contact Andrei Zaretski, Manager of Marketing and Media Relations, at 416-391-3450 or 416-843-4898 or azaretski@bildgta.ca.

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