New GTA home sales jumped 94% in May compared to a year earlier

There was strong activity in the Greater Toronto Area’s new homes market in May.

Figures from the Altus Group, the official data source of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) show 4,794 new homes were sold in the month, up 94% from a year earlier and 27% above the 10-year average.

“It was the highest number of total new home sales for May since 2002,” said Patricia Arsenault, Altus Group’s Executive Vice President, Data Solutions. “New condo apartment sales were brisk among the near-record number of units launched in April. At the same time, new single-family home sales broke the 1,000-unit threshold for the first time in two years.”

There was a seventh month of year-over-year increases for new single-family homes, including detached, linked, and semi-detached houses and townhouses, with 1,004 sales, up 211% from last May but still 32% below the ten-year average.

Sales of new condominium apartments in low, medium, and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units, with 3,790 units sold, were up 76% from May 2018 and 64% above the ten-year average.

“The sales numbers of the last few months show that the underlying demand for new homes, both condo apartments and single-family homes, was there all along,” said David Wilkes, BILD President & CEO. “Our challenge as a region is to continue to develop innovative policy solutions that will allow us to build enough housing supply to meet that demand.”

Price gains for apartments

The benchmark price of new condominium apartments increased slightly from last month, to $779,687, up 2.8% over the last 12 months, while the benchmark price of new single-family homes decreased slightly from last month, to $1,109,501, down 3% over the last 12 months.

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