The Greater Toronto Area was Canada’s hottest market for new condominium apartments in 2017, according to recent figures by real estate advisory firm Altus Group.
The GTA market saw a record 36,429 units sold, and also logged the largest increase in buying activity across Canada with 7,297 more units sold than the previous year, up by 25%.
On the other hand, sales across the Greater Golden Horseshoe area were down 8% from 2016 with a combined 3,467 new condominium units sold. Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo remain the two largest new condominium apartment markets in the GGH regions surrounding the GTA with 783 and 1,257 units sold, respectively.
Meanwhile, sales of new apartments in Edmonton saw a remarkable 60% rise, with 1,289 units sold. This is the largest percentage increase among all markets sold.
“The sales activity across the country indicates that demand for new condominium apartment product was very strong in 2017, but particularly in the GTA,” said Matthew Boukall, senior director at Altus Group.
“While we expect to see some moderation in the GTA sales volumes in 2018 given price escalation in recent years, rising interest rates, tighter lending criteria and additional mortgage stress testing, strong demand in Vancouver and Calgary is expected to push new condominium apartment sales higher provided a broader range of affordable product can be brought to market,” he added.
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