OTTAWA — The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales dropped 3.1 per cent in August from July for the fourth straight monthly decline.
The association says much of the move lower reflects the slowing activity in British Columbia's Lower Mainland, where a foreign buyer tax introduced last month has further slowed the market.
With the decline in August, national sales have dropped 6.9 per cent below the record set in April, but were still 10.2 per cent above August 2015.
Home prices were up from a year ago, with the average price of a home sold in August at $456,722, up 5.4 per cent from a year earlier. However, the association said it was the smallest increase since January 2015.
Excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, the average price of a home sold in August was $357,033
The association's MLS home price index up 14.7 per cent year over year as Vancouver and Toronto also pulled up the average.
Along with lower sales, the number of newly listed homes dropped by 2.7 per cent in August compared with July to keep the sales-to-new listings ratio at what's considered a sellers market at about 62 per cent.
B.C. HOUSING MINISTER PENS LETTER TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ASKING FOR HELP
British Columbia's housing minister is asking the federal government to step up on addressing housing woes in the province and hurry up in investigating money laundering in real estate.
Rich Coleman has released an open letter to Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal minister responsible for housing, asking the federal government to collaborate with B.C. to solve the province's "critical" housing issues.
The letter calls on Ottawa to provide funding and land to build affordable housing and create tax incentives that will encourage the creation of more rental units.
Coleman also says they're encouraged that the Canada Revenue Agency is taking more steps to find tax evaders in the real estate industry, but he asks government to expedite its process.
National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier has asked the agency to look into the actions of some foreign investors following a Globe and Mail report that some people are allegedly profiting by evading taxes while buying homes in B.C.
Housing affordability has become a hot issue across B.C., as prices for detached homes reach unprecedented levels and vacancy rates for rental units shrink.
Steps have been taken to address the issue in Metro Vancouver, including the implementation of a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers and plans for a levy on vacant homes.
Coleman's letter says the province needs help from the federal government in order to continue addressing the problem.
"The issue of housing affordability is complex and will require a number of innovative solutions, but by working with your government and all levels of government, we are confident that solutions can be found."
HOUSEHOLD DEBT IN B.C. CLIMBS AS EXPERTS WARN CRIPPLING LOADS COULD SPELL RUIN
Consumer debt experts in British Columbia say Statistics Canada's latest figures on household debt are alarming.
Credit Counselling Society of B.C. president Scott Hannah says the numbers show households now owe $1.68 for every dollar of disposable income.
Hannah says the figure is one cent higher than the average debt held by United States consumers when the severe recession hit in that country in 2008.
Hannah says much of the U.S. economic collapse was linked to mortgages and notes the Canadian market is more robust, but he points to the recent slowdown in Vancouver's home sales as proof that conditions can change rapidly.
The Credit Counselling Society is also flagging Stats Canada figures showing an 8.2 per cent increase in non-mortgage debt among those over 65 years of age.
Hannah says non-mortgage debt among pension-age Canadians has now reached $15,000.
