November was another strong month for new home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), a growing trend in recent months amid the pandemic.
Single-family home -- including detached, linked, and semi-detached houses and townhouses (excluding stacked townhouses) --sales continued to significantly outperform 2019 levels, with 1,914 units sold for an annual increase of 68%, according to new data from the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and Altus Group. November’s total was also 58% above the 10-year sales average for the month.
“While single-family sales continued to see strong demand, we saw fewer than typical new condominium apartment openings in November, which resulted in lower overall sales for the month,” said Ryan Wyse, Altus Group’s Manager, Analytics, Data Solutions. “The pandemic has disrupted the usual seasonality in the market and we are likely seeing builders take a wait-and-see approach with respect to future launches, with an eye on the spring market.”
In November, similar to previous months, condominium apartments -- including units in low, medium and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses, and loft units -- experienced a considerable decline, with just 1,836 new home sales -- down 49% year-over-year and 32% below the 10-year average.
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Of the five regions within the GTA tracked by BILD and Altus, only Halton saw an annual increase in new condos sold last month, with 448 sales recorded compared to 117 in November of last year. Halton, Durham, and York all saw significant increases in single-family home sales in November, while Peel and the City of Toronto recorded declines.
Here in Toronto, 819 condo apartments and 32 single-family home sales were recorded in November.
With few new projects opening in November, the total new home remaining inventory dipped from the previous month to 14,697 units. The remaining inventory includes units in preconstruction projects, in projects currently under construction, and in completed buildings.
And while sales for new condos and single-family homes continued to diverge, prices for both segments experienced big increases in November. The benchmark price for a new single-family home in the Toronto region was $1,267,248, up nearly 16% over the previous year. Meanwhile, new condos recorded close to an 18% increase, rising to $1,003,801.
“It was a busy summer and fall in the GTA new home market, as the pent-up demand from our locked-down spring worked its way through the system,” said David Wilkes, BILD President & CEO.
“With the arrival of winter, we are entering what is typically a quiet time in the market. We are optimistic that the overall new home market in the GTA will demonstrate its strength as the region emerges from the pandemic.”
