Seasonal growth in Canadian home sales hit a brick wall in July, with sales edging up just 0.2 percent from June and listings down 0.4 percent. That compares to 3.3 percent sales growth from May to June, and 3.6 percent growth from April to May. Looking back a year, sales were up 9.4 percent in July.
Shares in Canadian companies in the real estate industry slid today on the news, Bloomberg News reports.
In June, the Canadian Real Estate Association revised its forecast for 2013 sales to 443,400 units, which would represent a 2.5 percent decline from 2012.
The July numbers “suggest that national activity is leveling off at what might best be described as average levels,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist, in a statement.
Klump noted that sales dropped sharply in August of 2012, “so we may see some year-over-year increases in sales and average prices next month that would reflect weakness in the rear view mirror.” Source: crea.ca.