Toronto Saw Zero New Single-Family Homes Sold, Condo Prices Trim $30k In A Month

Greater Toronto’s new construction housing has seen demand completely vaporize. Data from BILD GTA and Altus Group show new construction sales fell 90% in September. Prices are now falling, especially for condos which saw a $30k drop in the month. The segment was mostly bought by investors which have disappeared, helping inventory recover.

Toronto New Condo Prices Are Suddenly Plunging Lower

Greater Toronto Area (GTA) new construction prices are falling, just not as fast as resales. Single-family homes (detached, semi-detached, and town) saw the benchmark price fall to $1.85 million in September. That’s a drop of 0.4% (-$8,400) for the month, with prices now 4.2% (-$80,698) lower than the July 2022 peak. Not nearly as much of a contraction as we’ve seen in the resale market, which are now double-digits off peak.

Condo apartments are seeing sharper price declines, which are coming suddenly. The price of a typical, or benchmark, condo fell to $1.16 million in September. This is a decline of 2.5% (-$30,200) from a month before, with prices down 7.4% (-$93,100) since peaking in February 2022. Monthly price declines were nearly 5x the rate of single-family. A price correction is 10% or more so we’re not quite at a correction for the segment, but it’s getting close.

Greater Toronto New Home Prices Are Falling After An Abrud Run

The Altus Group benchmark price for a new home across Greater Toronto.

Source: Altus Group. 

Greater Toronto New Home Sales Fell 90%

Greater Toronto’s investor-dominated market has seen demand for new homes disappear. Just 45 single-family homes sold in September, down 96% from last year. It was the slowest September in at least a decade, and likely goes much further back.

Condo apartments were on a similar spiral of falling demand right across the GTA. Just 289 condos sold in September, down 89% from last year. Once again, the worst September in at least a decade, but likely goes much further back. In contrast, the 2015 condo slump saw a volume 3x higher than we just saw.

The City of Toronto saw a sharp slowdown in particular, when it came to sales. Just 109 condo apartments were sold in September, down 92% compared to last year. Not one single family home sold in the month, down from 71 units last year. 

Toronto New Construction Inventory Jumped 17%, But Still Low

Greater Toronto new housing inventory is rising, but still not at pre-2020 levels. There were 11,900 new homes for sale in September, up 14.3% from the previous month. Single-family inventory fell to 1,609 units (-1.0%), while condos jumped to 10,290 units (+17.1%) from a month before. It sounds like a big jump, but in the past decade, we haven’t seen anything this low prior to 2021. An exception being the 2017 mini-bubble. Soft sales tend to delay new project releases, so the condo bump is a bit of a surprise.

Higher interest rates play a significant role, throttling leverage and profitability. Considering nearly 60% of Toronto’s new condo supply is investor owned, this was predictable. What’s not so easily predictable is whether investors will jump back into the market soon. Especially as investor mortgages are set for another global regulatory hit next year.

4 Comments

COMMENT POLICY:

We encourage you to have a civil discussion. Note that reads "civil," which means don't act like jerks to each other. Still unclear? No name-calling, racism, or hate speech. Seriously, you're adults – act like it.

Any comments that violates these simple rules, will be removed promptly – along with your full comment history. Oh yeah, you'll also lose further commenting privileges. So if your comments disappear, it's not because the illuminati is screening you because they hate the truth, it's because you violated our simple rules.

  • Yoroshiku 1 year ago

    In January, a house (an unremarkable, unrenovated 1980s brick place) about 3 blocks from mine went on the market for $2.3M. A bidding war drove the price to $3M.

    Now there are similar houses on the market near me in the $2.3-$2.4M range, sitting, unsold, week after week. No prices are coming down but nothing is moving either.

    • Tim 1 year ago

      Oh cool. Your anecdotal evidence without any verifiable facts is much more important than the real estate industry’s actual numbers. To the moon!

      • John ritchie 1 year ago

        No matter how much you deny it. Prices are falling. The reason there is no sales is because buyers have dissappeared and few people are realistic enough to understand that to sell, they are going to have to reduce the asking price by about 25% now and a lot more by spring. The maket for property is gone and might not come back for years.Lots of new immigants will push up rental prices significantly but that will not boost sales while the maket is dropping which might take a while. Immigrants will just sit on the sidelines like everyone else and wait till a bottom is well established.
        You cant justify $1,000,000 house or condo price by rental income.
        Value should be about 10 times rental income so rent on a $ 1 miilion dollar property should be about $ 100,000 per year. Rents have a long way to rise or values a long way to fall

  • J 1 year ago

    Would not touch a condo with a 50ft pole. Better off moving to a small villege and find remote work that pay less than my GTA Job.

Comments are closed.