No, you didn’t misread the headline and no, this isn’t a story from 2011 that we’ve mistakenly put back in rotation.
The first quarter of 2014 was the strongest in the last decade for new home sales across the GTA. The high-rise and low-rise sales tallies, released this week by RealNet Canada, were truly staggering when one considers the many, many warnings Torontonians have heard in recent months about the city’s overheated market.
There were 4,962 high-rise sales in the first quarter, up 68 per cent over the first quarter of 2013 and up 35 per cent from the 10 year average. On the low-rise side, there were 3,966 sales, up 51 per cent from the first quarter of 2013 but down eight per cent from the 10 year average.
RealNet said that 2014 has seen the strongest January and March for GTA high-rise sales in the last decade. In March alone, there were 2,496 high-rise sales, up 105 per cent from March 2013 and 1,631 low-rise sales, up 65 per cent year-over-year.
Prices also saw strong growth in March. The RealNet New Home Price Index for the low-rise sector was $657,961, up three per cent over March 2013. On the high-rise side, prices rose two per cent to $436,898.
Here’s a handy chart that RealNet put together that tracks sales numbers for both sectors over the last 10 years:
