GTA Combined New and Resale Home Sales in 2016: Apartments Surge, New Single-Detached House Sales Shrink
By: Frank Clayton
Senior Research Fellow, CUR
February 6, 2017
Key highlights of the overall market for home sales in the GTA in 2016 (70 percent of sales are resale) are (1) the strong underlying demand for ground-related homes (especially single-detached houses) which is increasingly being constricted by a lack of supply; and (2) the acceleration of demand for condominium apartments which has resulted in supply constraints in this segment of the market as well.
The most astonishing statistic in the table below is the 15.4 percent and 23.5 percent year-to-year declines in sales of new single-detached and semi-detached houses, respectively, at a time underlying demand is robust and prices accelerating. Without resolute action by the Province and the Regions of Peel, York, Halton and Durham to fast-track the bringing to market of many more serviced sites for ground-related housing, the prices of these housing types cannot go anywhere but up. There is also a need for the City of Toronto to expedite planning approvals to speed up the supply of sites for condo apartments.
