Sales of new homes in the Greater Toronto Area surged in October, driven by multifamily and condo apartments in high-rise and medium-rise buildings and stacked townhomes.

A report from the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) shows that 5,377 new homes were sold last month, 91% (4,884) were multifamily while just 493 were low-rise homes.

The figures reveal that condo sales were 81% higher than the 10-year average for October and set a new record for the month; low-rise sales were 64% below the 10-year average.

BILD president and CEO Bryan Tuckey says the market for new single-family homes has been restricted by the Ontario government’s policies.

“Provincial intensification policy has our members building more high and mid-rise dwellings making housing choices a challenge. The cost of a single family home is out of reach for many consumers pushing them to buy a condo over a house. As a result we are seeing record breaking condo sales and higher prices this year for new low-rise homes,” Tuckey says.

There was an increase in supply of new homes in October (12,500 units) but this was still well-below a healthy level with 9,308 multi-family and 3,192 single-family homes available.

The average price of available new single-family homes was up almost 30% year-over-year to $1,217,428; an increase of more than $12K from September.

For new condo apartments in high-rise and mid-rise buildings and stacked townhomes was $677,456 in October, up from September’s $661,188.