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GTA new home sales in 2013 have taken a drop from their 2012 numbers as supply weakens and demand drops. Compared with 2012, RealNet Canada found total year-to-date home sales were 37% lower, due to a 43% and 33% drop in the low-rise and high-rise sectors respectively. The reduced sales gave April 2013 the second lowest year-to-date sales numbers on record.
In the low-rise sector, monthly sales in April were well below the 10-year average and 29% lower than in the 2009 Financial Crisis, while high-rise unit sales matched the average. April low-rise sales were at their second lowest level on record although RealNet attributes this due to a lack of supply in new homes to offer buyers.
Housing inventory in the low-rise sector shrunk by 49% from 2009 numbers, while high-rise unit inventory rose to a record high of 22,354, marking a contrast in home type availability in the housing market. April also saw the launch of eight new high-rise projects which contributed 2,484 new units to the housing supply. First month sales of these new projects average 38%, doubling the average for launches in prior months of 2013.
Price wise, high-rise units remained flat from 2012 at $433,122 and low-rise units rose by 6% to $627,933. Low-rise prices, dropped 2% monthly from March 2013 due to added units in the townhome sector. The growing price gap between high-rise and low-rise units also hit near record levels at $194,000, up from the $75,000 average before 2011.
