Toronto condo sales have slowed from the record-setting pace of 2012.

According to Urbanation Inc., 2,728 new condominium apartments were sold in the first quarter of 2013, down 29 per cent from the final quarter of 2012, and 55 per cent from the same time last year, which was a record for first quarter sales activity.

Sales in the first quarter were weighed down by the lowest number of new project openings since the third quarter of 2009.

“The lower volumes seen in the first quarter were not unexpected given how strong the market was throughout 2011, and the first part of 2012,” says Shaun Hildebrand, Urbanation’s senior vice-president. “The industry has been cautious in bringing new units to market as sales centre traffic has slowed.”

The number of unsold units in active projects increased during the first quarter to 18,845 units, 21 per cent higher than a year ago. However, the share of active units that are sold held steady at 79 per cent, slightly lower than the five-year average of 80 per cent. The majority of unsold units (64 per cent) are in projects that are still in the pre-construction sales phase.

“The market appears well positioned for an improvement through the rest of 2013,” says Hildebrand. “More competitive pricing and the upcoming release of some highly anticipated projects in the second quarter should attract a good amount of attention.”