According to the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), 2022 saw the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) experience the lowest level of new home sales since 2018. Altus Group, BILD’s official source for new home market intelligence, reported that in 2022, 25,400 new homes were sold in the GTA, a 29% decrease from the 10-year average.
Condominium apartments, including units in low, medium and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units, saw a 12% decrease with 20,917 units sold in 2022. Single-family homes, including detached, linked, and semi-detached houses and townhouses (excluding stacked townhouses), accounted for only 4,483 new home sales in 2022, a 64% decrease from the 10-year average.
“GTA new home sales started strongly in 2022 before easing in the second half of the year with annual sales sitting at a 4-year low,” said Edward Jegg, Research Manager with Altus Group. “However, prices steadied in December after months of declines as buyer demand and builder supply were more closely aligned.”
The month of December saw a significant decline in new home sales, with only 563 new home sales and 398 condominium apartment sales, the second-lowest level for December in the last decade. Despite the overall decrease in sales, prices for new condominium apartments and single-family homes saw a slight increase in December, compared to the previous month.
With few new projects opening in December, total new home inventory decreased, leading to a 6.6-month and 4.6-month supply of condominium apartments and single-family homes respectively. A balanced market would have 9-12 months of inventory.
Read the full December 2022 New Homes Monthly Market Report
BILD President & CEO, Dave Wilkes, attributes the decline in new home sales to high interest rates and tightening monetary policy. “With interest rates at the top of the cycle, the further two per cent imposed by the minimum qualifying rate will almost certainly prove to be an insurmountable hurdle for thousands of new home buyers trying to finalize financing this spring,” Wilkes said. He calls on the federal government to reconsider their approach to monetary policy in order to remove artificial obstacles for families looking to purchase homes.
