Toronto, March 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GTA new home sales continued strong in February of this year, though below the record-setting pre-pandemic performance of February 2020, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced today.
Total February new home sales, with 3,240 units sold, were nine per cent above the 10-year average but 34 per cent below February 2020, according to Altus Group*, BILD’s official source for new home market intelligence.
“We need to be careful when comparing February of this year to the exceptionally busy month of February 2020, just before the pandemic hit,” said Dave Wilkes, BILD President & CEO. “We are talking about completely different sets of circumstances. The fact is that February 2021 was a solid month when compared with the 10-year average.”
Sales of new single-family homes, including detached, linked, and semi-detached houses and townhouses (excluding stacked townhouses), with 1,617 units sold, were down 30 per cent from last February but 20 per cent above the 10-year average.
Condominium apartments, including units in low, medium and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units, accounted for 1,623 new home sales in February, down 38 per cent from February 2020 and even with the 10-year average.
“Sales in the new condominium apartment sector in the GTA returned to a more typical level in February,” said Ryan Wyse, Altus Group’s Manager, Analytics, Data Solutions. “With additional new supply on the horizon, the spring market will likely yield its usual increase in activity; however, economic challenges related to the pandemic remain and will continue to provide some obstacles in the near term.”
With few projects launching in February, remaining inventory decreased compared to the previous month, to 12,095 units. It was the lowest level of remaining inventory since December 2017. Remaining inventory includes units in preconstruction projects, in projects currently under construction, and in completed buildings.
“The demand for new homes in the GTA continues strong, but bringing enough homes to market continues to be a challenge for our industry, given the impacts of the pandemic, ongoing union membership disputes and materials shortages,” said Mr. Wilkes. “We all need to work together to ensure we can deliver homes to the GTA families that are waiting for them.”
In February, the benchmark price for new single-family homes was $1,373,473, which was up 25.1 per cent over the last 12 months, and the benchmark price for new condominium apartments was $1,042,064, which was up 8.4 per cent over the last 12 months.
February New Home Sales by Municipality: **
| February 2021 | Condominium Apartments | Single-family | Total | ||||||
| Region | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Durham | 55 | 76 | 19 | 457 | 490 | 97 | 512 | 566 | 116 |
| Halton | 399 | 262 | 22 | 83 | 391 | 275 | 482 | 653 | 297 |
| Peel | 110 | 613 | 127 | 335 | 309 | 193 | 445 | 922 | 320 |
| Toronto | 788 | 1,404 | 523 | 77 | 18 | 4 | 865 | 1,422 | 527 |
| York | 271 | 260 | 57 | 665 | 1,093 | 115 | 936 | 1,353 | 172 |
| GTA | 1,623 | 2,615 | 748 | 1,617 | 2,301 | 684 | 3,240 | 4,916 | 1,432 |
Source: Altus Group
With more than 1,300 member companies, BILD is the voice of the home building, land development and professional renovation industry in the Greater Toronto Area. The building and renovation industry provides more than 269,000 jobs in the region and $30.3 billion in investment value. BILD is proudly affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders' Associations.
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For additional information or to schedule an interview, contact John Provenzano, BILD Media Relations Manager, at JProvenzano@bildgta.ca, (416) 617-7994.
*Altus Group should be credited as BILD’s official source of new home market intelligence.