Luxury-home sales plunge in pricey Canada markets
Canada set out to cool a hot housing market, and did it ever. Luxury-property sales in the nation's priciest markets fell sharply in the first half of the year amid a slew of government regulations, according to a report released Tuesday by Sotheby's International Realty Canada. Sales of homes above C$1 million (S$1.03 million) fell 46 per cent in Toronto and 19 per cent in Vancouver from a year earlier, while the number of homes sold above C$4 million dropped 51 per cent in Toronto and 47 per cent in Vancouver. The declines follow a wave of lending constraints and taxes implemented by both the federal and provincial governments to tame soaring prices fueled by speculative purchases. "The collision of rising mortgage rates, stricter lending guidelines and cascading governmental policies and taxes" have hurt a number of important Canadian markets, Brad Henderson, president and CEO of the Sotheby's unit, said in a statement. In the condominium subcategory, Vancouver bucked the trend, as homebuyers who were priced out of detached houses turned toward the high-rise alternative. Sales of condos above C$1 million rose 9 per cent in the first six months of the year from the same period in 2017, and 35 per cent for condos above C$4 million. In a city where the benchmark selling price for a detached house was C$1,598,200 in June, a C$1 million condo still looks pretty good, with growing demand from young families and professionals.
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