City of Toronto leads with about 70% of new units ready for sale in GTA

George Carras – Toronto Star

New condo sales in the GTA are up 33% from last year.

So far this year, there have been 37 new highrise projects launched for sales across the region – a total of 7,588 new condo units.

And demand for those new projects has been very strong, with 50% of that new supply getting sold.

Comment: Note that that is half of projects being sold in 2/3rds of the year. You could say demand is strong. And of those launched projects, I bet none have a shovel in the ground yet. By that time they will be 70-80% sold. And once complete, 80-90% sold. And once the condo corp registers, 96.5% sold. No, there won’t be 7,588 condos suddenly flooding the market when they are built. That is just not how it works.

Where is this flurry of residential activity taking place?

About 70% of the new supply introduced in the GTA has been located within the boundaries of the City of Toronto, with only 16% in the 905, and 13% in suburban Toronto markets (Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, East York and York).

But there has also been a record level of new supply in the City of Toronto, relative to the rest of the GTA.

The city is also where sales response has been the strongest (57% within the old City of Toronto boundaries, versus 34% in the 905, and 29% in the Toronto suburbs).

Of course, pricing is considerably higher in the city, too. At the end of May the average price for new highrise condos in the City of Toronto was $682 per square foot – that’s 34% higher than in the 905, and 40% higher than in the Toronto suburban markets.

This rise of momentum in new condominium sales across the GTA suggests the market is responding to having the right highrise product offered at the right price, and in the right locations.

Comment: No kidding. It speaks to the demand being quite strong as well.

Indeed, location has never been more important for condo shoppers. And a big part of a location’s appeal these days comes down to accessibility to transit.

For communities across the GTA, new regional transit initiatives will be essential in making highrise condos a viable solution for housing a growing population.

Highrise housing and public transit go hand in hand. And while there’s lots of discussion these days about transit plans – particularly among Toronto’s mayoral candidates – there’s also plenty of construction of new transit lines currently under way.

Understanding where new transit will be built should be a key part of anyone’s due diligence on a highrise condo purchase. The market tends to reward those with a vision of the future.

Comment: So make sure to buy near new transit, it will only ever affect your price positively.

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Contact Laurin Jeffrey for more information – 416-388-1960

Laurin Jeffrey is a Toronto real estate agent with Century 21 Regal Realty.
He did not write these articles, he just reproduces them here for people who
are interested in Toronto real estate. He does not work for any builders.
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