TORONTO – According to condominium market research group Urbanation, 2015’s second quarter proved to be a lucrative one for new condo sales in Toronto.
The group’s recently-released Q2-2015 market results reveal a full 56 per cent of the 5,737 condominium homes launched during the second quarter were absorbed before it ended, reflecting a two-per-cent increase over Q2-2014.
In addition, Toronto’s inventory of completed and unabsorbed units dropped from 1,647 at the end of March, to 1,425 units at the end of June. Meanwhile, of Toronto’s total condos that had reached the occupancy stage, only 6 per cent were left unsold at the end of the quarter.
Looking at the bigger picture, just 17,709 units were left unsold in Q2-2015 – marking an impressive year-over-year unsold inventory drop of 13 per cent.
“The Toronto condo market remains highly absorbed as demand is showing strength across the board,” Shaun Hildebrand, Urbanation’s Senior Vice President, said in the report’s accompanying statement.
“From higher-end product in the core to more entry-level units in the 905, sales and rentals are trending higher.”
Looking at sales performance for Toronto’s condo market overall (not just new inventory), the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB)’s Q2 Condominium Market Figures report revealed 7,656 total condominium apartment transactions across the GTA – reflecting a year-over-year increase of 17 per cent. The vast majority of those were in the City of Toronto, with 5,365.
“Recent condominium apartment completions, while strong from a historic perspective, simply helped satisfy a growing demand for this housing type,” said TREB president Mark McLean in a statement. “Absorption rates and price growth statistics point to a healthy market.”
Toronto Housing Starts See Slight July Decrease
After increasing monthly since February, the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) saw a month-to-month decrease in its housing starts, which totalled 36,810 in July – marking a 5.9 per cent drop from June’s tally of 39,108 starts.
However, CMHC market analyst Dana Senagama says the decrease in housing starts (which include not just condominiums, but other home types as well) indicated that low-rise starts “remained robust,” as a red-hot resale market continued to drive demand for new detached homes and towns.
“Toronto housing starts decreased for the first time in five months due to contracting apartment starts,” Semagama added. “However, strong sales of pre-construction condominium apartments over the past two years will convert to more starts as the year progresses.”
