GTHA New Condo Sales Sink to Lowest Level Since 1991 as Project Cancellations Surge

Sales of newly completed condominiums in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA) plunged in 2025 to their lowest level in more than three decades, as developers grappled with weak demand and mounting financial pressures that led to a record number of project cancellations.

A report released Wednesday by real estate research firm Urbanation found that new condo sales fell 60 per cent from the previous year to just 1,599 units, marking the fourth consecutive annual decline. Sales were 91 per cent below the 10-year average and have dropped a staggering 95 per cent since peaking in 2021, underscoring the severity of the ongoing market correction.

At the same time, developers scrapped 28 active condo projects in 2025, cancelling a total of 7,243 units. That figure more than doubled both the number of units cancelled in 2024 and the previous record set in 2018. Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand warned that the prolonged downturn could have serious long-term consequences for housing supply in the region.

“As the condo market enters the fifth year of its largest ever correction, the duration of this downturn should be a significant cause for concern as it relates to future supply,” Hildebrand said in a news release. He added that while it is already clear there will be no new condo completions by the end of the decade, uncertainty remains over how long the supply crunch could extend into the 2030s, particularly if rental construction fails to make up the shortfall.

Some cancelled condo projects have been redirected toward rental housing. Urbanation reported that eight cancelled projects, totalling 2,189 units, were converted into purpose-built rentals in 2025, following the conversion of 1,434 units in 2024. Purpose-built rental starts also rose 24 per cent year-over-year, but the gains were not enough to offset the sharp decline in condo development.

Condo construction starts fell 63 per cent in 2025 to just 3,272 units, a multi-decade low. Developers launched only 10 new condo projects during the year, bringing 1,425 units to market. Of those, just 22 per cent were sold, down from 24 per cent in 2024 and far below the 81 per cent sales rate recorded for new launches in 2021.

Overall, condo starts have dropped 88 per cent over the past three years, pushing the number of units under construction to its lowest level in a decade. Pricing has also softened, with average selling prices in new launches falling to a five-year low of $1,123 per square foot, an eight per cent decline from 2024.

In the resale market, condo units completed within the past three years averaged $856 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2025, highlighting the widening gap between new and resale pricing amid one of the most challenging periods the region’s condo sector has faced in a generation.