It didn't take long for Jonathan Meads' future Surrey, B.C., high rise to hit its condo presale targets last year, giving the developer the green light to start building.

"We hit the presale requirement very quickly, four months," said Meads, noting that developers typically need to sell about 60 per cent of their units to secure construction financing. "We were one of the last three high rise towers [in Metro Vancouver] to truly hit that last year."

Construction for the project is moving full steam ahead, but sales have since dried up, prompting Meads — and many builders like him in B.C. — to think twice before forging ahead on new projects.

"When we look at our competitors, they're all in the same boat. It has literally disappeared. There's no first-time buyer confidence, there's

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