Toronto seeing ‘historic’ market downturn with just 53 new condos sold in September: BILD

A new condo construction site is reflected in the window on an ongoing condo construction site in downtown Toronto on Thursday, May 25, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

New condo sales dropped to a record low for the month of September with just 53 units sold in Toronto last month, according to new data from the Building Industry and Land Development Association.

Citing data from Altus Group, BILD said just 155 condo units were sold across the GTA last month, down 44 per cent from September 2024 and 90 per cent below the 10-year average.

“New home sales across the GTA stumbled to another record low for the month of September,” Edward Jegg, research manager at Altus Group, said in a statement accompanying the report.

“In fact, new home sales are down year-to-date across all the markets tracked by Altus Group led by Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Hamilton, and Kitchener-Waterloo where sales have fallen by over half compared to last year.”

The report notes that across all segments, including condos and single-family homes, there were just 438 new home sales in the GTA last month, down 29 per cent from September and 80 per cent below the 10-year average.

Of the sales last month, 283 were single-family homes, down 16 per cent from the previous year and 61 per cent below the average over the last decade.

“The market downturn we are experiencing is historic and will have long-term consequences for housing affordability, the jobs that are provided by our sector, and the economic activity and revenue generated by the new residential construction sector across the country,” Justin Sherwood, chief operating officer of BILD, said in a written statement.

‘An apparent price floor’

The report notes that remaining inventory in the GTA “decreased slightly” to 21,749 units due to very little new inventory being added, a trend which is “expected to continue as market conditions persists.”

In terms of prices, the benchmark price for a new condo apartment in the GTA in September was flat at $1,033,317, remaining at “an apparent price floor.”

The benchmark price for new single-family homes slid to $1,437,447, down 8.2 per cent over the last 12 months.

“Now is not the time for half measures,” Sherwood said. “We are at a moment in time where we have the opportunity to avoid the consequences of this historic national housing downturn through bold action.”

He reiterated previous calls for other levels of government to step up and work with the sector to reduce the GST on all new homes as part of both the upcoming federal budget and province’s fall economic statement.

“To do otherwise is an admission of acceptance that the loss of almost 100,000 jobs nationwide and acute affordability challenges in the coming years are acceptable outcomes,” Sherwood said.