Sales of new homes were down 48% in the Greater Toronto Area compared to a year earlier as low- and high- rise sectors saw large declines.

High-rise sales fell 37% to 1,749, 3% below the 10-year average; and low-rise sales of just 352 was 73% below September 2016 and 70% below the 10-year average.

The figures from the Altus Group show that the total of 2,101 sales was 30% below the 10-year average.

Year-to-date the stats show improvement for the high-rise sector with 27,153 units sold, up 29% from the same period of 2016 and 72% above the 10-year average.

However, low-rise sales year-to-date of 6,718 is 53% lower than the same period of 2016 and 44% below the 10-year average.

The overall total year-to-date is 5% down from 2016 and 22% above the 10-year average.