Newly-built condos in the Greater Toronto Area continued to be a difficult sell in September, with a 44 per cent drop in sales compared to the same month a year ago.
A report released by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) on Tuesday showed just 155 new condos were sold.
In the City of Toronto, only 53 new properties had a buyer.
“The trend that we saw in September really has been a trend we’ve been seeing over the last couple years, where we have been seeing sales both from a condominium apartment point of view, but also from a single-family perspective, trending downward,” said Dave Wilkes, president and CEO of BILD.
“It is a very serious problem, it is a problem that will result in a lack of housing supply in the next two to three years as sales don’t turn into starts, and it is a problem where we’re going to see serious job losses.”
Wilkes told Global News that the issue is not just a condo problem but a “housing problem” of all types, and that it’s happening across all markets in Canada.
“The challenge we’re facing is the cost of building has really gotten too high for the market to absorb,” he said.
A total of 1,538 condos were sold in the GTA up to September, which is down 60 per cent from 2024. It’s also 90 per cent below the 10-year average for the region.
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The report considers condos as units in low, medium and highrise buildings, and stacked townhouses.
Outside of Toronto, 15 condos were sold last month in Durham, 35 in Halton, 43 in Peel and nine in York.
“It’s definitely a huge drop from last year,” said Victor Tran, Rates.ca’s mortgage and real estate expert. “Not surprising because a lot of new condo developments have actually just been put on hold or projects have been cancelled completely because there’s simply no buyers out there that are looking to purchase a pre-construction.”
Tran added those who bought homes a few years ago may now have to “cough up” extra money to close on the purchases because lenders may not finance the property for as much as what it was first purchased for.
The decline in home sales stretched beyond just condos, with a total of 438 single-family and condo apartments sold last month. That’s a decrease of 29 per cent from September 2024.
As condo sales reach a new low, the benchmark price for a new condominium apartment remained relatively flat at $1,033,317.
Inventory also decreased slightly last month, with 15,875 condo units available and 5,874 single-family homes in the GTA. BILD said this represents a combined inventory level of 22 months, based on average sales over 12 months — the highest level seen to date.
Wilkes said while there’s a high level of inventory, if more homes aren’t built, the GTA could face a shortage in just a few years.
“Today’s sales are tomorrow’s starts, as we like to say, and with the continuing trends that we’re experiencing, if there isn’t a kick-start to the market, if there isn’t the bold action and the HST relief … by 2027 and 28, we are very much concerned about the lack of new housing that will be coming onto the market and having huge shortages that could have a negative impact on affordability,” Wilkes said.
The issue, Tran said, is that it’s still expensive to purchase pre-construction condos and expensive to finance them.
“Someone buying a condo and waiting for years for it to complete, not knowing what their employment situation is going to be like … it’s a scary thought,” Tran said.
“That’s why I don’t think the new construction condo market is going to pick up anytime soon, especially since there’s so much inventory for resale right now to choose from.”
Wilkes said continued action by governments is needed to cut red tape and spur further builds, noting Ontario’s recent announcement to waive the HST on new homes up to $1 million for first-time homebuyers is one such step.
“The market is still stalled,” Wilkes said. “We believe that we need to keep the focus on the action that we’ve seen.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
