New data shows condo apartment transactions now dominate the market
Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area were relatively muted in July, although condo apartment transactions now dominate the market, according to Altus Group and the Building Industry and Land Development Association.
The market saw a total of 2,140 sales in July, a level that was 14% lower than the 10-year average for the month.
The slowdown was apparent across all residential asset classes. Single-family homes saw 662 sales in July (21% below the 10-year average), while condos accounted for 1,478 sales that month (11% below the 10-year average).
“New home sales took a bit of a breather in July,” said Edward Jegg, team Leader of analytics at Altus Group. “A drop in July is typical, as potential buyers take time off to enjoy too-short Canadian summers and fewer new projects launch. Adding to the seasonal dip this year was some moderation following the surge in sales from July 2020 through April 2021 that followed the initial pandemic lockdowns.”
Read more: Are condos a good investment in Toronto?
However, home prices reached new peaks in July, with the benchmark for new single-family homes increasing by 28.4% annually to around $1.518 million and the benchmark for new condos rising by 9.8% during the same period to reach $1.091 million.
The market’s inventory also had significant declines, dropping to 1,598 single-family units and 9,483 condo properties.
“Low inventory levels for both condominium apartments and single-family homes are a persistent problem in the GTA that exerts upward pressure on prices,” said Dave Wilkes, president and CEO of BILD. “We are encouraged to see that the issues of housing supply and affordability are prominent in the lead-up to the federal election – as they must be in elections at every level if we are to build the housing people in our region need, at prices they can afford. What we need is an alignment of federal, provincial, and municipal housing policy on market-rate housing.”
