Thursday, August 4, 2011

URBANATION REPORTS A RECORD-BREAKING SECOND QUARTER FOR 2011

A major influx of more than 9,000 units from 44 new projects helps smash multiple records

TORONTO – August 4, 2011:  Urbanation Inc., the leading source of information and analysis on the Toronto condominium market since 1981, today released its Q2-2011 market overview.

The condominium market in the Toronto CMA smashed nearly every existing record in Q2-2011. The most noteworthy record was for quarterly new condo sales: 9,455 units sold in Q2, topping the previous record high of 6,997 set in Q2-2007 by a whopping 35 per cent.

Q2-2011 also set records for the number of active projects, active units, sold index price, unsold index price, new condominium launches, units and projects under construction, and quarterly unit registrations.

There have been 24,731 new condominium sales over the past 12 months, topping the previous record high of 22,654 set in Q4-2007 by 9 per cent. There were 39,196 condominium units under construction in the Toronto CMA in 153 projects in Q2-2011, a high water mark for the CMA. Just 16 per cent of the 78,142 units in 306 active condominium apartment projects were unsold at the end of the second quarter, a record low.

“These results for Q2 are remarkable, but they will likely bring about more talk of the sustainability of the condominium market,” says Ben Myers, Urbanation Executive Vice President and Editor. “But it’s clear that the market is not experiencing rapid increases in pricing, which is the hallmark of a real estate bubble. The market is very healthy, as condominium resale activity remains strong, and results from our new UrbanRental report show that condominium rents have improved over the first quarter.”

Both the new and resale condominium markets saw increases in index prices, with unsold pricing in the new condo market rising from $529 psf in Q2-2010 to $552 psf in Q2, an increase of 4.3 per cent. The resale index price increased from $370 psf to $391, or 5.7 per cent. Additionally, index rents improved 5.5 per cent year-over-year.

The high level of investor activity in the market has also been the subject of some negative attention from the media. But, says Myers, the ‘occupancy intentions’ of buyers should be of little concern so long as the resale market continues to absorb the higher priced newly registered units and condominium rental rates remain strong.

Urbanation attributes the record-setting second quarter sales to the major influx of new product: 44 new project launches introduced 9,182 units to the market. The new openings in the ‘905’ region actually had a higher absorption rate than the ‘416’area projects.

“The 905 has experienced blowout sales successes in Q2, as did several of the 30 openings in the 416” says Myers.

The resale condominium market is also on target for a record year. Similar to the new market, the resale condo market was boosted by the addition of new supply. A record 7,815 units registered in Q2-2011, nearly as many as the previous three quarters combined.

Looking ahead, Urbanation is forecasting 25,000 new condominium sales and 17,000 resale transactions for 2011.


CONTACT:    Vicki Griffiths
                        Vicbar Marketing
                        416-510-0073


ABOUT URBANATION

Urbanation is Canada’s leading condominium market research company. Since 1981, Urbanation has analyzed the Toronto condominium market, publishing the “industry bible” – Urbanation’s Condominium Market Survey. This quarterly report tracks new, resale and future condominium projects (at an annual cost of $8,750). The newest report from Urbanation is UrbanRental, which tracks activity in the condominium rental market (at an annual cost of $1,275). Urbanation also provides the development community with essential consulting services, which include site and topic specific market studies and surveys.