24 May 2018

The first new home data by Altus Group appeared in 2000, but BILD says previous data shows 1995-1996 was the last time we’ve seen such a low sales April number of 1,727.

BILD CEO David Wilkes says the new construction industry is still affected by the same factors which caused weak resale housing trend in the Toronto area this year.

“Partially, it’s a cycle. Usually, we can see lower activity at the end of the winter or in early spring right before the spring market rebounds. Moreover, other components of the real estate market also show that we are at a pause,” – noted Wilkes. “People are trying to reassess their possibilities, and it’s definitely connected with the affordability problem in the GTA.”

Nevertheless, the fundamentals of the market haven’t showed sharp changes, he says. During the next 20 years, the Toronto region will need 55,000 new homes per year in order to offset the strong demand.

With lower home sales in April and the release of new housing projects we can see there were 15% more new homes available last month than in March. But still, BILD points out that the five-month inventory remains below the 9-12 months’ supply signaling about a healthy market condition.