The GTA’s tale of two markets was even more prevalent in the tally of new home sales in January, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced this week.

In the highrise market, new home buyers are still looking for and finding quality, affordable homes across the GTA. Choice in the highrise market is a direct result of provincial public policy that has resulted in an ever increasing emphasis on intensification, and the industry is adapting to the shift.

In January, new home buyers purchased 686 highrise homes, most of which were sold in the City of Toronto. Buyers interested in owning a new condominium in the ‘905’ area code found a variety of projects in York Region as well.

The tale of the lowrise market is illustrated by constrained land supply, and a lack of product and choice. According to RealNet Canada Inc., BILD’s official source of new home market intelligence, new home buyers purchased 562 single, semi-detached and townhomes in the GTA.

“People still want to purchase a detached, semi-detached or townhome in the GTA, and over the last few years we have seen a reduction in sales of ground-related housing. A typical January for the lowrise market would have seen more than 1,000 new homes sold across the GTA,” says BILD president and CEO, Bryan Tuckey. “The level of ground-related housing sales resulted in 1,248 new homes to be sold in the GTA – almost 1,000 below the long-term average. This is a direct result of reduced affordability and choice in the lowrise sector, and illustrates the effect of public policy on the market.”

The RealNet New Home Price Index indicated a 16 per cent increase in the lowrise sector over January 2012 ($639,588). Highrise condominiums remained the more affordable option in the GTA, with a two per cent increase in the price per square foot, bringing the unit price index to $435,722.