Urbanation states Condo market still strong!

CONTACT: Vicki Griffiths


Vicbar Marketing Limited

416-510-0073

vgriffiths@vicbarmarketing.com

URBANATION PROJECTS BUOYANT FIRST QUARTER

IS PRELUDE TO STRONGER SECOND QUARTER IN

CONDO SALES

Q1 – 2011 also marks a significant 7,550 construction starts with record

37,706 suites under construction in Toronto CMA

TORONTO – May 9, 2011: Urbanation Inc., the leading source of information and

analysis on the Toronto condominium market since 1981, today released its Q1-2011

market overview.

The Toronto CMA new condominium market kicked off 2011with a bang, with 5,201

sales. That was just 214 sales shy of the record first quarter result from 2010. The resale

market also showed a strong start in Q1, with 3,952 units sold, just 338 fewer than last

year’s first quarter record of 4,290.

“These near record sales in the first quarter of 2011 mark a prelude to an even more

vibrant second quarter,” says Ben Myers, Urbanation Executive Vice President and

Editor.

The most noteworthy result in the market was the 7,550 construction starts in the first

quarter, while there are now a record number of suites under construction in the Toronto

CMA at 37,706. At the end of Q1-2011, over half of the 284 new condominium

apartment projects and 73,643 units were under construction. Just 17 percent of the new

condominium suites in the CMA were unsold (12,272 units) matching the record low set

in the first quarters of 2010 and 1986.

“This momentum will continue into the second quarter, when an estimated 45 new

condominium projects, representing 9,500 units, will launch,” says Myers. “That’s a

healthy increase over the just 23 new condominium towers launched in the second

quarter of 2010.”

Meanwhile, the 17 new projects that opened in Q1 sold 63 percent of their 3,768 total

units. That number far surpasses the average absorption rate for new projects in their

opening quarters between 2006 and 2010 (49 percent).

Prices also climbed. The average price per square foot of unsold product in the Toronto

CMA new condominium market in the first quarter increased 3 percent from Q4-2010,

and 7 percent annually, to $543 psf. Unsold index pricing was also up in the former City

of Toronto to $650 psf and the Downtown Core to $739 psf.

Prices in the resale market also edged up by 2 percent over Q4-2010 to $382 psf,

increasing the average resale index price in the Toronto CMA by the largest quarterly

margin since the fourth quarter of 2009. Resale index pricing in the former City of

Toronto was $509 psf with Downtown Core prices at $513 psf in Q1-2011.

Resale supply also declined, dropping far lower than the record 10,997 listings from one

year ago to 7,490 resale listings in Q1-2011.

“The major infusion of new units in the second quarter of this year should moderate

pricing increases, but Urbanation expects near record quarterly sales in Q2-2011” Myers

added, “and an elevated level of project registrations, will also keep resale pricing

increases temperate”.

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. Urbanation also provides the development

community with essential consulting services, which include site and topic specific

market studies and surveys.

www.urbanation.ca

www.twitter.com/urbanation