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There were just over 300 new homes sold across the entire Toronto region in April. A population of about 6.4 million people was mainly too scared to pull the trigger.

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It was one of the worst months ever for sales, according to the Building Industry and Land Development Association. The market hasn’t improved much since.

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But that didn’t stop Kim Meszaros, an insurance adjuster in her late 50s, who is one of the few to have jumped into the frigid waters of Canada’s largest housing market in recent months.

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“It wasn’t really planned but at this stage, because I’m not quite retired, but I am looking ahead,” she said, adding she has been in the same house for 20 years and figured she wanted to downsize sooner rather than later.

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Meszaros found her dream spot in Oakville, southwest of Toronto, in a project planned by Graywood Developments called Claystone Condos, which is aiming to attract end users as opposed to investors.

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“It’s a crazy market out there with condos,” she said, fully aware of the drop in sales and prices. June sales were just 510 units, 82 per cent below the 10-year average for the month, BILD said.

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Ron Butler, a mortgage broker who has been vocal about Toronto’s condominium market prices falling further, believes the number of presales is effectively closer to zero because projects sold today won’t be built.

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“She is the one scenario where you can buy where it is a lifestyle choice,” said Butler, adding that for investors, the math no longer works. “The sales happening are mostly fictitious…. What will be built is closer to zero.”

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Although he said there will be exceptions and they will be well-financed projects from developers with strong balance sheets. If you can wait, Butler said there will be much more downward pressure on existing high-rise condo prices.

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At the same time, he believes rents will continue to fall because apartment construction is at levels not seen in decades.

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“There is a play for the couple who haven’t started a family, but their rent is going down,” said Butler. They can wait and time the market.

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Meszaros’ logic is pretty sound. Her daughter just graduated, has a job and is close to moving out, so it made sense to downsize.

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She owns the luxury of time and has no frantic need to buy, the force that drive much of the action at the peak of the market.

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Her dream 930-square-foot, two-bedroom-plus-den unit near Lake Ontario in a perfect community won’t be ready until 2028. Still, she had the luxury of being picky, choosing a building with an architect she liked and even getting a free parking spot with an electric vehicle charging station, on top of her chosen finishes.

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“I do interior design on the side, and that is important to me,” Meszaros said.

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With possession three years away, Meszaros still faces the task of selling her 25-year-old house, but she feels a recent renovation will help, and she can handle a price drop.