OTTAWA (Reuters) – Sales of existing Canadian homes fell for the third month in a row in July, data showed on Monday, as fewer homes changed hands in Vancouver and elsewhere in British Columbia, some of the hottest markets in the country.
Still, home prices kept rising, the report from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said, lifted by a surge in prices in Vancouver and Toronto.
Seasonally-adjusted home sales declined 1.3 percent in July from June. Sales were down in just over half of all markets last month, led by the Greater Vancouver area and the Fraser Valley in British Columbia. Sales in the two regions have tumbled by 21.5 percent and 28.8 percent respectively since peaking in February, the industry group said.
The decline in sales in July even as prices rise in those areas suggests sales are muted by a lack of inventory and their increasing unaffordability, said CREA’s chief …