Low-rise home sales continue to slide

Consumer confidence in the GTA’s new homes market is still low as sales amounted to the third-worst April on record, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced today.

Read: Condos drag down housing market

According to RealNet Canada Inc., BILD’s official source for new home market intelligence, there were 987 new single, semi-detached and townhomes sold in the GTA in April, the lowest ever recorded for that month.

Year-to-date sales painted a similar picture with the total number of homes sold combining for the second-lowest on record and 30% below the long-term average.

“Affordability is still a major challenge for the industry and new home buyers, particularly in the low-rise sector,” said BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey. “We need to inspire consumer confidence in the market through the construction of quality, affordable communities in the GTA.”

Read: Housing affordability not a problem for most families

Sales in the high-rise sector were close to the long-term average. The numbers indicate some signs of consumer confidence as 38% of new openings in April were sold within the first month. This illustrates some improvement over the year’s first quarter new openings sales of 20%.

The RealNet New Home Price Index showed a 6% increase in the low-rise sector over April 2012, bringing the price to $627,933. Pricing for high-rise homes remained relatively unchanged at $433,132.

Read: No housing bubble, says Scotia

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.