Only 269 new homes sold in the Toronto area last month despite record high levels of inventory, a new report states.
The data, compiled by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD)’s Altus Group, indicates that new home sales in January were down 36 per cent from last January and are 80 per cent below the 10-year average.
Historically, new home sales in a typical January in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) would be 1,339 units, BILD — an advocacy group for GTA homebuilding, residential and non-residential land development and professional renovation industries — said Tuesday.
“In order to turn these figures around we need market certainty coupled with steps to support consumer confidence to move buyers off the sidelines,” said Justin Sherwood, chief operating officer at BILD, in a news release.
“Without that, we will continue to see record-low home sales and this will have significant employment and economic impacts across the region – and undermine future starts and supply.”
Condominiums, including units in low, medium and high-rise buildings and stacked townhouses, accounted for 85 units sold in the GTA in January, the report found. There were 184 single-family home sales in the GTA.
Total new home remaining inventory in the GTA changed little compared to the previous month, at 20,557 for January. That includes 14,731 condominium apartment units and 5,826 single-family dwellings.
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The report said those figures represent a combined inventory level of 26 months, based on average sales for the last 12 months — the highest inventory level seen to date.
“In the long-term, permanent and structural change is needed, but in the short-term, the federal government can kickstart activity by moving quickly on their commitments to reduce development charges (DCs) and provide certainty on tax measures,” Sherwood said.
“At this time, it is vital that governments work with speed and urgency to help support consumer confidence and revitalize activity in the market through policy changes that address government-added costs to new homes.”
Ontario’s homebuilding industry did show signs of life in January, with housing starts finally improving after years of persistent decline in the face of cratering pre-construction sales.
Data released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows that Ontario saw a 12 per cent bump in new housing starts for January 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
The data also shows there were 550 single-detached homes starting construction across the province — a sign that the ongoing oversupply of homes, coupled with low demand, has led to a slowdown in stand-alone homes.
Many of the units were multi-residential developments, with most of them rentals. A total of 3,905 new homes were in multi-unit buildings. Of those units, 2,200 were rentals and 1,158 were condos.
The Ford government has overseen a flailing housing industry for years. First, Premier Doug Ford blamed rising interest rates for the lack of housing, promising new homes would sprout “like mushrooms” if rates dropped.
But when the cost of borrowing fell, the housing market didn’t rebound. Ford suggested the cost of building approvals and permits from cities was to blame, an issue his administration has repeatedly tried to address through legislation.
Most recently, Ontario unveiled a new home tax incentive for first-time buyers. A couple of months after it was introduced, the premier said he knew it wouldn’t work, suggesting it needed to be expanded.
Bill 17 paved the way for DC deferrals — a major change that allows developers to pay municipal fees when the property is handed over to the buyer, rather than when the building permit is issued.
While the legislation was tabled in early June, regulations that enforce the law were only approved in November, making it mandatory for municipalities to defer the charges.
— With files from Isaac Callan and Colin D’Mello
So much analysis done by the experts. Let me clear this up for you. Canadians are broke plain and simple. People don’t have the money to buy a 2 million dollar home. Simple isn’t it?