New condo sales in the Toronto region dropped to their lowest level since the 2009 financial crisis, with investors balking at lofty purchase prices and higher borrowing costs.

The slowdown has imperilled the construction of homes at a time when governments are trying to spur more building in a bid to make housing more affordable. The cost of housing is out of reach for many Canadian residents with the average monthly rent around $2,000 and the typical home selling for more than $700,000. The pace of home building needs to accelerate to meet the demand of a growing population. But the staggering drop in new condo sales will lead to less investment in housing.

There were 1,461 new condo sales in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in the first quarter of the year, according to industry research firm Urbanation Inc. That marked the lowest quarterly amount since early 2009, when the world was reeling from the U.S. housing meltdown and global recession.

“It is dead. I would never use words like this, but I am because it is true,” said Simeon Papailias, managing partner with real estate brokerage REC Canada, whose firm sells new condos, also known as preconstruction condos because they have not been built yet.