Urbanation - Toronto Condominium News: May 2013

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Toronto Condo Market Strengthens per Urbanation's Q1-2013 UrbanRental Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO CONDO RENTAL MARKET STRENGTHENS

growth in leases and rents pick up speed in

the first quarter

TORONTO – May 14, 2013: Urbanation Inc., the leading source of information and analysis on the Toronto condominium market since 1981, released its Q1-2013 rental market results today.

A total of 3,919 condominium apartments were leased in Q1-2013 on the MLS system, up by 31% from a year ago. Growth in rental transactions continued to outpace growth in rental listings, pushing average index rents higher by 4.4% from last year to a record $1,856 per month or $2.33 per square foot.

Over the past two years, rents have risen by more than 10%, equal to an additional $170 per month or 23 cents per square foot on average.

“Demand for renting condos has heated up with less first-time buyers. Rental transactions have exceeded resale volumes in the condo market since mid-2012, when the latest round of mortgage rule changes came into effect” said Shaun Hildebrand, Urbanation’s Senior Vice President.”

Units listed for rent on the MLS system in the first quarter grew by 19% from last year. Out of the 4,859 units that registered in Q1-2013 (the second highest quarterly total of the past four years), 13% were rented out in the quarter, compared to less than 2% that were resold.

“Investors are increasingly choosing to hold their units rather than flip them for sale. For the first time in a while, rents are rising faster than prices,” added Hildebrand.

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. The newest report from Urbanation is UrbanRental, which tracks activity in the condominium rental market. Urbanation also provides the development community with essential consulting services, which include site and topic specific market studies and surveys.

www.urbanation.ca

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www.urbanation.ca/UrbanRental

Media Contact: Pauline Lierman

Pauline@urbanation.ca

416 922 2200

Monday, May 6, 2013

Q1-2013 Press Release - Toronto Condo Market Continues to Rebalance

TORONTO CONDO MARKET CONTINUES TO REBALANCE

Sales slow from record-setting pace in early 2012

TORONTO – May 6, 2013: Urbanation Inc., the leading source of information and analysis on the Toronto condominium market since 1981, released its Q1-2013 market results today.

A total of 2,728 new condominium apartments were sold in Q1-2013, down by 29% from Q4-2012 and 55% from Q1-2012—which was a record for first quarter sales activity. Sales in Q1-2013 were weighed down by the lowest number of new project openings since Q3-2009.

“The lower volumes seen in the first quarter were not unexpected given how strong the market was throughout 2011 and the first part of 2012. The industry has been cautious in bringing new units to market as sales centre traffic has slowed,” said Shaun Hildebrand, Urbanation’s Senior Vice President.

The number of unsold units in active projects increased during the first quarter to 18,845 units, 21% higher than a year ago. However, the share of active units that are sold held steady at 79%, slightly lower than the five-year average of 80%. The majority of unsold units (64%) are in projects still in the pre-construction sales phase.

The average index price grew by 2.5% annually in the first quarter to $533 psf, a slower pace than the 6.4% average recorded over the past 10 years.

“The market appears well positioned for an improvement through the rest of 2013. More competitive pricing and the upcoming release of some highly anticipated projects in the second quarter should attract a good amount of attention. Activity will remain below recent peaks, but should rise up to a level more consistent with the historical trend this year. An early indicator may be found in the resale numbers, which typically lead the new market during periods of recovery,” added Hildebrand.

Resale condominium apartment sales increased by 9% from the fourth quarter to 3,204 units in Q1-2013 —ranking fourth for a first quarter behind the past three years. Average index prices slipped by 0.5% from a year earlier to $394 psf. Resale prices were weighed down by a jump in listings during the quarter (+25%), partly as a result of an increased number of new registrations at 4,859 units in Q1-2013, 7% of which were listed for resale.