It appears Toronto’s condominium market is still on its way up, and not just in tower height.
With 20,596 shiny new condos sold in 2016 at September’s end, the high-rise corner of the market is on pace for a record year. In September alone, 2,468 of these units changed hands.
That’s according to the latest data from Altus Group, a real estate analyst that has partnered with the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) to release monthly GTA housing market numbers.
The whirlwind of activity has resulted in an average high-rise home price of $486,605 for new units in September.
While that is, unsurprisingly, shy of the new low-rise average of $992,231––which includes detached and semi-detached homes, as well as townhouses—it is still a record for the segment and represents a 10 percent increase over a year ago.
Bryan Tuckey, CEO of BILD, explains that a number of factors are behind the climbing condo prices. “The recent increase in high-rise prices can be attributed to the rise in average suite size, combined with a growing price per square foot,” says Tuckey.
“This year we have seen the introduction of larger suites aimed at purchasers who have been priced out of the low-rise market,” he adds.
As GTA resale home prices climb, more and more would-be buyers start shopping for new high-rise units. The average price of a resale detached home in GTA soared to $1,013,788 last month, up 23.6 percent from the same time last year.
And in September, condo units averaged 809 square feet, which is an increase from the 767-square-foot average recorded at the same time in 2015. Per square foot, that works out to $601, or $26 more than last year.
Last month, there were 13,817 new high-rise dwellings on the market, a 35 percent dip from a year ago and a slight decline from the previous month.
Elise Kalles is the exclusive agent representing the Toronto/Ontario real estate markets as a member of the Haute Residence Real Estate Network. View all of her listings here.
Images courtesy of Elise Kalles / Shutterstock
