Vancouver homes sales down

Vancouver home sales, which have been hit by a tax on foreign buyers, fell for a third consecutive month in October, dropping nearly 40 percent from a year earlier, the city's real estate board said. The real estate market has been a contentious topic in Vancouver as many residents and housing advocates complained that foreign buyers, especially from China, were driving up prices and making homes unaffordable for local people. Critics of the tax have said it is unfair to existing property owners and will hurt the economy. "Changing market conditions compounded by a series of government interventions this year have put home buyers and sellers in a holding pattern," Dan Morrison, the board's president, said in a statement. "Potential buyers and sellers are taking a wait-and-see approach to try and better understand what these changes mean for them.