A condo building, centre, under construction in downtown Toronto. Condo sales in Toronto suffered a 46-per-cent drop in June from a year earlier.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The number of new homes that sold in the Greater Toronto Area last month was the lowest of any June on record, as a steep drop in condo sales overwhelmed a rise in sales of houses and townhomes.
The price of new condos dipped by a negligible amount, while those of detached homes and townhomes continued to rise.
A total of 2,341 new homes sold in the GTA during June, down 30 per cent from 3,364 last June and down 36 per cent from the average level over the past decade, according to new data from RealNet Canada Inc. and the Building Industry and Land Development Association.
The sale of new houses, townhomes and semis rose on a year-over-year basis for the first time since the spring of 2012. There were 1,090 low-rise home sales during the month, up six per cent from a year ago, although still 34 per cent below the 10-year average.
But the number of new condos sold came in at 1,251, down 46 per cent from 2,335 a year earlier, and down from 3,008 sales in June, 2011. The figure is 38 per cent below the 10-year average.
All told, new home sales in Canada's most populous city during the first half of the year are the second-lowest in a decade.
"Both the industry and the consumer are currently challenged by a considerable reduction of affordability and choice in the market," BILD chief executive Bryan Tuckey stated in a press release. "This has severely reduced new home sales, particularly in the low-rise market which is experiencing record-high pricing."
The RealNet New Home Price Index rose six per cent from last June, to $638,655. The corresponding high-rise figure fell 0.5 per cent to $430,216.