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Despite a record number of construction cranes gracing the horizon, Toronto`s once-thriving new condo market hit a dismal sales low in the first quarter of 2009, according to an industry analysis revealed yesterday.
Urbanation Inc., which researches the development industry, reported that the number of sales recorded during the first quarter dipped to 917 units -- the lowest level since 1996 and a far cry from the high of nearly 7,000 units sold in the second quarter of 2007, the peak.
"It`s a decline of 73% over the performance of last year, of 2008," said Jane Renwick, executive vice-president of Urbanation. "The market really came to a halt in October, November and we haven`t picked up momentum through the first quarter."
At the same time, Urbanation reported ground has been broken on some 36,255 units now under construction in the region--a market high point.
The two sets of figures may seem contradictory, said Stephen Dupuis, executive director of the Building Industry and Land Development Association. But they represent telling snap shots in time: of Toronto`s high-flying condo construction market during a boom and the new recessionary reality.
Mr. Dupuis said the public and even political leaders should be deceived by all the construction sites in Toronto because they are building projects that came to market in 2006 and 2007.
The outlook could be bleak for the industry heading into the future, Mr. Dupuis said, unless there is a significant boost in sales.
``If we`re not selling anything [now] there`s nothing to build at a later date," he said.
Brad J. Lamb, owner of the eponymous real estate firm and star of HGTV`s reality show Big City Broker, said the Urbanation data should come as no shock.
"It shouldn`t be a surprise because nothing anywhere sold. IPod sales were down. The only thing that was up was macaroni and cheese .... People were terrified to spend money," he said. "It`s not a reflection of the new condominium market, it`s a reflection of the overall state of the consumer`s mindset at the time."
He said the numbers are also not an indicator of the overall health of the industry, pointing out that Toronto`s "real-time" condo market -- units that are brand new, already built and ready for occupancy in a registered building -- is quite tight and there is more competition to rent condos.
Read the full article here.
Urbanation Inc., which researches the development industry, reported that the number of sales recorded during the first quarter dipped to 917 units -- the lowest level since 1996 and a far cry from the high of nearly 7,000 units sold in the second quarter of 2007, the peak.
"It`s a decline of 73% over the performance of last year, of 2008," said Jane Renwick, executive vice-president of Urbanation. "The market really came to a halt in October, November and we haven`t picked up momentum through the first quarter."
At the same time, Urbanation reported ground has been broken on some 36,255 units now under construction in the region--a market high point.
The two sets of figures may seem contradictory, said Stephen Dupuis, executive director of the Building Industry and Land Development Association. But they represent telling snap shots in time: of Toronto`s high-flying condo construction market during a boom and the new recessionary reality.
Mr. Dupuis said the public and even political leaders should be deceived by all the construction sites in Toronto because they are building projects that came to market in 2006 and 2007.
The outlook could be bleak for the industry heading into the future, Mr. Dupuis said, unless there is a significant boost in sales.
``If we`re not selling anything [now] there`s nothing to build at a later date," he said.
Brad J. Lamb, owner of the eponymous real estate firm and star of HGTV`s reality show Big City Broker, said the Urbanation data should come as no shock.
"It shouldn`t be a surprise because nothing anywhere sold. IPod sales were down. The only thing that was up was macaroni and cheese .... People were terrified to spend money," he said. "It`s not a reflection of the new condominium market, it`s a reflection of the overall state of the consumer`s mindset at the time."
He said the numbers are also not an indicator of the overall health of the industry, pointing out that Toronto`s "real-time" condo market -- units that are brand new, already built and ready for occupancy in a registered building -- is quite tight and there is more competition to rent condos.
Read the full article here.