New home sales up four percent in October

TORONTO — There were 4,012 new homes and condominiums sold in the Greater Toronto Area in October, up 4 percent from October, 2005, Desi Auciello, president of GTHBA-UDI announced recently.

“The prevailing market trends were completely reversed in October,” Auciello said. “Whereas monthly sales have been trailing last year by about five to six percent on average, October sales were up. And whereas the high-rise market has been outperforming the low-rise market all year long, low-rise sales surged 17 percent compared with October, 2005, while high-rise sales decreased by 12 percent,” Auciello added.

“It is far too early to suggest that we are witnessing a rebalancing of the low-rise and high-rise markets,” Auciello stated. “New project openings can skew the market month to month. For example, sales in Halton region spiked 195 percent in October, based on a five-fold increase in low-rise housing sales in Milton,” he said.

The low-rise new home price index currently sits at $402,284 while the high-rise price index is at $315.754. The index is essentially the average asking price of all the remaining new homes and condos currently available for sale. The new home price index is based on currently available new home offerings, weighted by remaining inventory, for projects of 15 or more units, excluding ultra-luxury product.

According to RealNet Canada Inc., the independent source of market information for GTHBA-UDI, the top five municipalities in the GTA for October were Toronto, 1,448; Milton, 552; Markham, 418; Brampton, 369 and Mississauga, 278.

Draftcon Calamar project wins award

NIAGARA FALLS, ON.—The Ontario Concrete Awards recently held its annual awards banquet at the Construct Canada/Concrete Tradeshow at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre where Draftcon Calamar Corp was selected as the winner in the “Specialty Concrete Product” category for their submission of Hana America Corporation.

Hana America Corporation is located on Stanley Avenue in Niagara Falls and was constructed by Draftcon Calamar using the CON/STEEL site-cast concrete TILT-UP method. In this type of construction, the floor slab for the entire building is placed first and then used as the casting bed for all wall panels to be formed and poured. Once curing has been attained, the walls are then "tilted" into place. All work is done completely on-site using locally produced materials. This particular project posed many challenges since the site conditions were so narrow. This 2-storey building totaling nearly 9,500 S.F. is comprised of a restaurant, a retail store and a tourism office.

Hana America chose the tilt-up wall system for its many benefits including high-energy efficiencies and low maintenance.

“We are honored to have been selected by our peers for recognizing the value, aesthetics and use of concrete by using the CON/STEEL TILT-UP method,” said Draftcon Calamar Vice President and General Manager Gary Ulias. “This award exemplifies our commitment to finding solutions for our clients. Our skilled craftsmen along with the outstanding quality and benefits derived from the CON/STEEL TILT-UP system enables Draftcon Calamar to truly add value to our clients.”

CONCRETE AWARD: (l. to r.) Charles Kim (Hana America Representative); Gary Ulias, (VP & GM for Draftcon Calamar Corp); Emilio Raimondo, (Partner for Raimondo + Associates Architects); Guy Lattanzio, (Project Superintendent for Draftcon Calamar Corp); Wade Cook, (Executive Vice President for Draftcon Calamar Corp); Brad Griffiths, (Senior Project Manager for Draftcon
Calamar Corp); Sean Tylie, (LaFarge Concrete Niagara Falls, Ontario).