New report finds home sales in the GTA in July were at the lowest levels seen in decades

A for rent and a for sale sign are displayed on a house in a new housing development in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

New home sales in the Greater Toronto Area remain “exceedingly low,” with July seeing the lowest levels in decades, according to a new report.

The report, published by the Altus Group on behalf of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), warned that the current levels are “eclipsing the 1990s downturn.”

Researchers with the Altus Group found home sales in July were down by 48 per cent compared to last year, even lower than the 10-year average.

The report said new home sales for a typical July in the GTA would be 1,941 units based in the previous 10-year average. But only 359 homes were sold in July 2025.

Of the homes sold in the region, condominium apartments, including units in low, medium, and high-rise buildings and stacked townhouses accounted for only 150 units this July, 44 per cent lower than last year and 60 per cent below the 10-year average, the report said.

Single-family detached homes, linked and semi-detached houses and townhouses were sold 44 per cent less compared to last year and 60 per cent below the 10-year average, with only 209 homes sold.

New homes available in the GTA only increased “slightly” compared to June with 22,654 new units in the market, according to the report, including more than 16,000 condominium apartment units and around 5,984 single-family homes.

“What more evidence is needed to demonstrate that we need concerted action to address the crisis that is stalling out new supply and compounding the challenges in the GTA housing market?” Justin Sherwood, senior vice president of communications, research and stakeholder relations at BILD said.

“The market, leaders within the industry and top economists are flashing every possible warning light, and the lesson from the 1990s downturn is clear: if government stands by, the pain will be deep and prolonged. To avoid repeating history, government intervention is not optional – it is urgently due.”

Meanwhile, the standard price for new condominium apartments in the GTA this July was $1,029,527, showing no material change over the last year. But the standard price for new single-family homes was 6.1 per cent lower over the last year, at $1,488,940.

Justin Sherwood, senior vice president of stakeholder relations, research and communications at BILD told CP24 that people are sitting on the sidelines due to high interest rates, despite new constructions being available.

“Essentially, what we’ve seenisprices have moderated about 20 per cent since the peak in 2022 and we basically have hit a price floor,” Sherwood explained. “You can’t build it for cheaper than the prices that are being asked right now, and that’s a factor ofconstruction inflation -- the increase in the cost to build, government fees, taxes and charges, cost of land.”

If the government takes steps to reduce development charges,or offers a potential break in the HST, that could help make iteasier for people to buy homes, he added.

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