New home sales stalled in August

The gradual recovery in new home sales this year stalled in August. Numbers were flat for the month compared to the year before, down 0.6 per cent to 320 from 322, putting a halt to the closing gap in the 10-year average of monthly sales, according to the August new home market report by industry analyst PMA Brethour Realty Group. The numbers were also down from July, falling 5.9 per cent, but as August is typically one of the slowest of the year for sales, the results last month are not surprising. Strong sales by industry leader Minto in particular helped keep things from slipping too far. The builder snagged a whopping 24.7 per cent of the market with strong condo and freehold townhouse sales, particularly at Chapman Mills. Tartan also did well with its singles at Findlay Creek. Some of the dip can be attributed to slower sales by another top performer, Mattamy, although it still saw continued strong townhouse sales at its Fairwinds project in Kanata. “Minto and Mattamy, they’ve done very, very well (this year), as has Monarch, so they’ve really helped turn around what could have been a disastrous year,” says Patrick Meeds, PMA’s managing director of the New Home Division. “When one of the big guys gets the sniffles, it affects the overall number (of sales for the month).” Ottawa is a small market, he notes, and — combined with a historically slow month — when one of the top builders underperforms, it “can radically change the percentage of sales.” But he adds, “Right now it looks like most builders are tracking the same as they have for several months. Nothing that seems to be too concerning — and there’s been reasonably consistent sales on the condo side.”