New condominium sales up in Toronto, 7 out of 10 new properties sold were Condos

Nov. 22, 2010 - PRLog -- Toronto |  www.WorldWealthBuilders.com |

A new survey shows seven out of 10 new properties sold in the Greater Toronto Area last month were condominiums. Strong condominium sales in October have kept the Greater Toronto Area new home market on par with last year’s near record pace.

“Professional Real Estate Investors are still active in the market,” said Navtaj Chandhoke, founder, Professional Real Estate Investors Group (PREIG) Canada. “It is safe to invest in Real Estate and have decent return on their money instead of other investments”

With an astonishing seven out of every ten new homes sold in October being a high-rise condominium suite, high-rise condo sales were up 27 per cent over October 2009, and are running 52.6 per cent ahead of the January-October 2009 period. On a year-to-date basis, more than half (56 per cent) of the 30,914 housing units sold have been high-rise condos.

RealNet Canada said it was the best October ever for the condo industry and the second highest sales month ever, finishing only behind June, 2007.

The City of Toronto proper still accounted for 76% of all condo sales last month but high-rise activity is booming in Toronto’s suburbs. The Peel region, west of the city, saw condo sales climb 164% from a year ago while York region to the north had a 138% rise in sales from a year ago.

Sales of new housing hit 4,535 units last month, up by 0.6 per cent from the same time last year according to figures released by the Building, Industry and Land Development Association on Monday. The positive figure is a major rebound from September, when sales were down by 32 per cent.

The October numbers are the best such result for the month since 2000, according to Building, Industry and Land Development Association.High rise sales were up by 27 per cent, while low rise sales were down by 32 per cent.

But some empty nesters, particularly from areas such as China, Middle East and India which are extremely active in the Toronto market, may not be as sensitive to local market conditions and are looking for long term appreciation. Some analysts have said there are too many high rise buildings being built.

The more affordable condominium sector has taken off because low rise homes have been priced out of the reach of many buyers. Investors meanwhile, continue to be attracted to the relative stability of the Toronto market.

A forecast by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says that a weaker 2011 is expected especially in comparison to the already softening resale market. Toronto new housing prices remained flat in September over August, the first time that prices have not increased this year, according to figures released by Statistics Canada.

# # #

Navtaj Chandhoke is a Canadian-based real estate investor, speaker, author, educator and the founder of World Wealth Builders, leading RE investors education,mentoring, support and network of over 4545+ Canadian investors.
www.WorldWealthBuilders.com