GTA condo construction to stay above historic highs

By the end of 2017, construction of new condo developments in the GTA was 215 projects and 58,900 units according to a new report from Urbanation.

There was also a multi-decade high for purpose-built rental construction, which reached 22 projects and 7,184 units. Total combined apartments under construction of 66,084 units was a new record for the GTA.

It forecasts that activity will moderate in 2018 but that developers will continue to add new condos to the market at above historic levels, buoyed by the high absorption rate (96% of units under construction and 87% of units in pre-construction are pre-sold) and a 15-year low for unsold inventory.

These figures, together with a 30% rise in selling prices for new condos in 2017, is set to drive construction starts higher for the next few years.

At the start of this year, Urbanation says that 144 condo apartment projects (40,148 units) were in pre-construction following the record-breaking 2017 for pre-sale launches in the GTA that saw 32,194 new units come to market.

Urbanation is calling for 19,000 completions a year through 2020 and for condos under construction to surpass 70,000 even without prupose-built rentals.