The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that Canada's preconstruction condo market has all but collapsed. The Globe's Rachelle Younglai writes that waning investor interest is raising questions about whether the market will ever return to its previous strength. Disappearing investor interest is a key factor behind the major slump in Canada's preconstruction condo sales. In Toronto, where investors used to account for at least 70 per cent of purchases, there were a record low 764 preconstruction condo sales in the third quarter this year, according to Altus Group -- a 73-per-cent drop from the same period last year. In Calgary, preconstruction condo sales fell 61 per cent in the third quarter, year-over-year. In Vancouver and Montreal, sales declined 27 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively. Experts predict interest in preconstruction condos will remain weak until they become money makers again; for that to happen, prices have to come way down, interest rates have to drop further, demand has to increase and rents have to go up. The average asking price of a preconstruction condo in the Toronto area was $1,338 per square foot in the third quarter, Altus said, meaning a 650-square-foot condo costs $870,000.