A report from the Globe and Mail on Canada. "Trevor Nicolle didn’t line up outside in 2018. The Toronto-based real estate agent, who specializes in new-build condominiums, joined the queues outside sales centres in 2017, when lines stretched far down the street before the launch of a new project. But things changed last year, when more projects were launched and more options were available. Suddenly, clients had three or four projects to consider."

"They could actually take a day to think about a purchase – without finding the price was $10,000 higher on the second day of sales. And agents such as Mr. Nicolle, who were 'doing cartwheels' in 2017 if they could secure any units for their clients in a new development, were gradually being allocated more and more units in new projects."

"From a distance, Toronto’s preconstruction condominium market has looked like the last remaining bubble in the city’s overheated real estate market, with prices hitting a record high in 2018 and the average unit selling for more than $1,000 a square foot in central Toronto, according to Urbanation Inc."

"One big reason has been growing cautiousness among investors – those buyers who intend to flip or rent out their units. They have been key to the new-build market, buying about half the units sold in the Toronto area in recent years – and creating the largest supply of rental units in the city."

"Many are now watching Vancouver, where sales of preconstruction condo units fell 15 per cent in the first nine months of 2018 and average sale prices slid almost 15 per cent between the first and third quarters as investor activity cooled, according to data firm Altus Group."

"Toronto may not follow the same pattern, and many builders say new-construction sales are simply stabilizing at a historically normal level after an unnatural frenzy in 2017. But some analysts fear a more significant hit could be coming as a flood of new supply comes on the market, potentially easing the city’s ultralow vacancy rate and limiting rent increases for investors."

"'I think those days of the modern gold rush in Toronto, where every developer was selling out within 30 days, are gone,' said real estate agent Adam Brind in downtown Toronto. 'I think everyone has to work a little harder now. You can’t just throw up a sign and say, ‘We’re launching this,’ and have a huge lineup.'"

"Toronto’s condominium market launched into overdrive in 2016 as the city’s housing sector soared into bubble territory. Many investors jumped into the prebuild sector in 2016 and 2017 as they watched others make huge profits on units purchased years before."

"In 2018, however, even the condo sector began to feel the strain. As the year progressed, prices for new-build condominiums outpaced the gains for resale condos. Mizan Rahman owns a condo unit in central Toronto that he rents out. He also bought two preconstruction units over the past few years that he expects to be completed and delivered this year. But the Toronto real estate agent says he wouldn’t buy a new one now, especially downtown."

"'If someone wants to invest money in a new condominium, it’s not the right time to do it right now because prices are sky high,' he said."

"According to a 2018 study by CIBC World Markets, investors took possession of 48 per cent of completed condos in the GTA in 2017 – and at least 44 per cent of those investors were in a negative cash-flow position, in which the rent they charged tenants was not enough to cover their mortgage costs, maintenance fees and property taxes. More than 34 per cent of those had a shortfall of more than $1,000 a month, and a further 20 per cent were losing between $500 and $1,000 a month."

"According to an IPSOS survey conducted in November, 62 per cent of people who own residential investment properties in the GTA said they were likely to list the properties for sale over the next year."

"If new investors don’t see a potential for ample value growth – enough to justify carrying a rental property at a monthly cash loss – they could withdraw in larger numbers, pulling the biggest source of heat out of the Toronto market. And if investors who purchased condos start to list them for sale after taking delivery because the carrying costs are too onerous, the pain could also spill into the resale market as inventories climb."

"'A bubble is sustained by the next guy coming in and being willing to pay more,' said Anthony Scilipoti, CEO of Toronto-based Veritas Investment Research Corp. 'If the price doesn’t go up, the new guy says, ‘I’ll just watch and see.’ And the longer it doesn’t go up, the longer he just watches.'"

From Domain News on Australia. "Sydney property prices are in decline but, in some pockets of the city, there is a stark difference in how apartments and houses are faring. Prices for apartments and houses are falling Sydney-wide. But in more than two dozen suburbs across the city, property price movements are more out of sync, mostly due to median unit prices rising while house prices fall."

"The biggest difference was in North Bondi, where the unit price climbed 12.1 per cent to $1,345,000, while the house price dropped 16.1 per cent to $2.56 million. Several high-end apartment sales on Ben Buckler, the headland north of Bondi Beach, were behind the increasing unit median, said Mary Anne Cronin of Phillips Pantzer Donnelley."

"'Generally apartments are still seeing an adjustment down … because you haven’t got as many investors,' Ms Cronin added."

"In other suburbs, like Penshurst, Redfern and Castle Hill, apartment prices dropped but were less affected than houses. In Redfern, the unit price went down 2.6 per cent, while house prices fell 16.8 per cent."