Toronto home sales fall 15.1% in June amid national drop

Canadian home sales fell 6.7% in June from the previous month, led by a 15.1% decline in transactions in the once-surging market of Toronto, data from the Canadian Real Estate Association show.

Sales also fell in Vancouver, the country’s other hot real estate market. Prices in both cities were down from the previous month but remained higher on a year-earlier basis — up 6.3% in Toronto and 2.7% in Vancouver.

Policymakers have taken several steps to cool growth in both markets, including tightened mortgage eligibility rules and a tax on foreign buyers — with the aim of avoiding a collapse in prices. Toronto’s market has since lost steam, while a decision by the Bank of Canada last week to raise interest rates will, in effect, further tighten mortgage accessibility.

Nationally, average Canadian home prices dropped 3.4% in June from the previous month, and were up 0.4% from the previous year.