Third quarter shows record high new condo sales and prices in the GTA

According to the recent report by Urbanation, sales of new condominiums in the GTA reached a record high level for the third-quarter, as buyers kept returning to the high-rise sector of the real estate market.

The report shows that 7,773 new condo units were sold in the GTA in Q3, marking a 22% annual increase and an all-time high for the third quarter.

More than half of all sales were reported in the suburbs, while the City of Toronto saw overall sales gain by 40%.

In addition to it, unsold inventory was also down, raising the average price per square foot for new condos by 10% to $1,231 and marking another record.

“As inventories are going down in the third quarter, this pace will probably remain in the coming months, although high prices and stronger chances for a sooner-than-expected rate increase could start restraining the market demand,” – noted Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation.

The GTA condo market is definitely back on a growth path, following a wave of units hitting the market in the fall and winter months during the previous year as the remote work changed buyers’ preference towards larger properties, reducing condo prices.

Jason Mercer from Toronto Regional Real Estate Board pointed to the “dichotomy” that appeared between the detached and condo sectors in December 2020.

“The supply of single-family homes is still low, which increases the competition between buyers and leads to double-digit price gains. Meanwhile, hikes in condo listings outpaced the sales growth sharply. Wider choice for condo buyers increased their bargaining power and caused an annual decline in average condo prices over the last few months of the year,” – he noted.

Now, most of the uncertainty concerning the pandemic is already gone, and the condo market is recovering.